The Blue Multi Unit Spectroscopic Explorer (BlueMUSE) on the VLT: End-To-End simulator 'BlueSi'

TL;DR

BlueSi is an early simulation software for BlueMUSE, a VLT spectrograph, enabling evaluation of technical specs and aiding scientific planning with realistic environmental modeling.

Contribution

This paper introduces BlueSi, an end-to-end simulation tool for BlueMUSE, incorporating lessons from MUSE to support instrument development and scientific preparation.

Findings

BlueSi effectively evaluates BlueMUSE's technical specifications.

Simulations include realistic environmental effects like sky contamination.

Supports scientific planning and trade-off assessments.

Abstract

BlueMUSE is a blue, medium spectral resolution, panoramic integral-field spectrograph under development for the Very Large Telescope (VLT). We demonstrate and discuss an early End-To-End simulation software for final BlueMUSE datacube products. Early access to such simulations is key to a number of aspects already in the development stage of a new major instrument. We outline the software design choices, including lessons learned from the MUSE instrument in operation at the VLT since 2014. The current simulation software package is utilized to evaluate some of the technical specifications of BlueMUSE as well as giving assistance in the assessment of certain trade offs regarding instrument capabilities, e.g., spatial and spectral resolution and sampling. By providing simulations of the end-user product including realistic environmental conditions such as sky contamination and seeing, BlueSi can be used to devise and prepare the science of the instrument by individual research teams.