Abstract
The Mitchell Spectrograph (a.k.a. VIRUS-P) on the 2.7 m Harlan J. Smith telescope at McDonald Observatory is currently the largest field of view (FOV) integral field unit (IFU) spectrograph in the world (1.7′×1.7′). It was designed as a prototype for the highly replicable VIRUS spectrograph which consists of a mosaic of IFUs spread over a16′diameter FOV feeding 150 spectrographs similar to the Mitchell. VIRUS will be deployed on the 9.2 meter Hobby-Eberly Telescope (HET) and will be used to conduct the HET Dark Energy Experiment (HETDEX). Since seeing first light in 2007 the Mitchell Spectrograph has been widely used, among other things, to study nearby galaxies in the local universe where their internal structure and the spatial distribution of different physical parameters can be studied in great detail. These observations have provided important insight into many aspects of the physics behind the formation and evolution of galaxies and have boosted the scientific impact of the 2.7 meter telescope enormously. Here I review the contributions of the Mitchell Spectrograph to the study of nearby galaxies, from the investigation the spatial distribution of dark matter and the properties of supermassive black holes, to the studies of the process of star formation and the chemical composition of stars and gas in the ISM, which provide important information regarding the formation and evolution of these systems. I highlight the fact that wide field integral field spectrographs on small and medium size telescopes can be powerful cost effective tools to study the astrophysics of galaxies. Finally I briefly discuss the potential of HETDEX for conducting studies on nearby galaxies. The survey parameters make it complimentary and competitive to ongoing and future surveys like SAMI and MANGA.
Highlights
In its 6-year lifetime the Mitchell Spectrograph has provided a test bench for the technology and the components involved in the construction of Visible Integral Field Replicable Unit Spectrograph (VIRUS) and a proof of concept for the observing strategy, data processing, and analysis algorithms that will be used in HET Dark Energy Experiment (HETDEX) [3]
As I have reviewed throughout this article, the instrument has produced a large number of scientific results regarding the properties of nearby galaxies and the physical processes involved in the formation and evolution of their components, including their stars, interstellar medium (ISM), dark matter halos, and central super massive black holes (SMBHs)
The commissioning of the Mitchell Spectrograph on the McDonald 2.7 m telescope has boosted the scientific output of this facility enormously
Summary
In its 6-year lifetime the Mitchell Spectrograph has provided a test bench for the technology and the components involved in the construction of VIRUS and a proof of concept for the observing strategy, data processing, and analysis algorithms that will be used in HETDEX [3] These were the main goals behind the design and construction of the Mitchell Spectrograph, the prototype has proved to be a unique and powerful instrument for the study of galaxies in the nearby universe and at high redshift (e.g., [3,4,5,6,7]). A custom data reduction pipeline called VACCINE [3] yields Poisson noise limited sky subtracted spectra
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
