Maunakea Spectroscopic Explorer Low Moderate Resolution Spectrograph: paths toward the Preliminary Design Phase

Abstract

The Maunakea Spectroscopic Explorer (MSE) is a 10m-class, wide-field (1.5 sq. degree) and high-multiplex (< 3000 fibers) spectroscopic facility that will replace the 3.6m Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope. With backend spectrographs operating at low (R ~ 3000), moderate (R ~ 6000) and high (R ~ 20/40 k) spectral resolution across the 0.36 – 1.8 µm range, MSE will be poised to address a variety of science questions among which the nature of dark matter, the origin of the elements in the periodic table, the mass of the neutrino, whilst enabling a new era of rapid-response and time-domain astronomy. This paper is a status report of the MSE Low Moderate Resolution spectrograph design, from the Conceptual Design Review (CoDR) towards the Preliminary Design Phase (PDP).