End-to-End simulation framework for astronomical spectrographs: SOXS, CUBES and ANDES

TL;DR

This paper introduces a comprehensive simulation framework for astronomical spectrographs like SOXS, CUBES, and ANDES, enabling end-to-end modeling from source radiation to detector data, aiding instrument design and calibration.

Contribution

It presents a novel End-to-End simulation approach tailored for multiple spectrographs, including a new contribution to the cross-correlation algorithm for CUBES's Active Flexure Compensation system.

Findings

Successful simulation of spectrograph observations from source to detector.

Enhanced collaboration with Data Reduction Software teams.

Improved cross-correlation algorithm for active flexure compensation.

Abstract

We present our numerical simulation approach for the End-to-End (E2E) model applied to various astronomical spectrographs, such as SOXS (ESO-NTT), CUBES (ESO-VLT), and ANDES (ESO-ELT), covering multiple wavelength regions. The E2E model aim at simulating the expected astronomical observations starting from the radiation of the scientific sources (or calibration sources) up to the raw-frame data produced by the detectors. The comprehensive description includes E2E architecture, computational models, and tools for rendering the simulated frames. Collaboration with Data Reduction Software (DRS) teams is discussed, along with efforts to meet instrument requirements. The contribution to the cross-correlation algorithm for the Active Flexure Compensation (AFC) system of CUBES is detailed.