WEAVE-StePS: a stellar population survey using WEAVE at WHT

©The Authors 2023. Artículo firmado por 48 autores. Funding for the WEAVE facility has been provided by UKRI STFC, the University of Oxford, NOVA, NWO, Instituto de Astrofisica de Canarias (IAC), the Isaac Newton Group partners (STFC, NWO, and Spain, led by the IAC), INAF, CNRS-INSU, the Observatoire de Paris, Region Ile-de-France, CONCYT through INAOE, Konkoly Observatory (CSFK), Max-Planck-Institut fuer Astronomie (MPIA Heidelberg), Lund University, the Leibniz Institute for Astrophysics Potsdam (AIP), the Swedish Research Council, the European Commission, and the University of Pennsylvania. The WEAVE Survey Consortium consists of the ING, its three partners, represented by UKRI STFC, NWO, and the IAC, NOVA, INAF, GEPI, INAOE, and individual WEAVE Participants. Please see the relevant footnotes for the WEAVE website (https://ingconfluence.ing.iac.es/confluence//display/WEAV/The+WEAVE+Project) and for the full list of granting agencies and grants supporting WEAVE (https://ingconfluence.ing.iac.es/confluence/display/WEAV/WEAVE+Acknowledgements). This work makes use of data from the European Space Agency (ESA) mission Gaia (https://www.cosmos.esa.int/gaia), processed by the Gaia Data Processing and Analysis Consortium (DPAC, https://www.cosmos.esa.int/web/gaia/dpac/consortium). Funding for the DPAC has been provided by national institutions, in particular, the institutions participating in the Gaia Multilateral Agreement. This work makes use of data from the VIMOS VLT Deep Survey, the VIPERS-MLS database and the HST-COSMOS database, operated by CeSAM/Laboratoire d'Astrophysique de Marseille, France. This work makes use of observations obtained with MegaPrime/MegaCam, a joint project of CFHT and CEA/IRFU, at the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope (CFHT) which is operated by the National Research Council (NRC) of Canada, the Institut National des Science de l'Univers of the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS) of France, and the University of Hawaii. This wo
The upcoming new generation of optical spectrographs on four-meter-class telescopes will provide valuable opportunities for forthcoming galaxy surveys through their huge multiplexing capabilities, excellent spectral resolution, and unprecedented wavelength coverage.Aims. WEAVE is a new wide-field spectroscopic facility mounted on the 4.2 m William Herschel Telescope in La Palma. WEAVE-StePS is one of the five extragalactic surveys that will use WEAVE during its first five years of operations. It will observe galaxies using WEAVE MOS (similar to 950 fibres distributed across a field of view of similar to 3 square degrees on the sky) in low-resolution mode (R similar to 5000, spanning the wavelength range 3660 - 9590 angstrom).Methods. WEAVE-StePS will obtain high-quality spectra (S/N similar to 10 angstrom(-1) at R similar to 5000) for a magnitude-limited (I-AB=20.5) sample of similar to 25000 galaxies, the majority selected at z >= 0.3. The survey goal is to provide precise spectral measurements in the crucial interval that bridges the gap between LEGA-C and SDSS data. The wide area coverage of similar to 25 square degrees will enable us to observe galaxies in a variety of environments. The ancillary data available in each of the observed fields (including X-ray coverage, multi-narrow-band photometry and spectroscopic redshift information) will provide an environmental characterisation for each observed galaxy.Results. This paper presents the science case of WEAVE-StePS, the fields to be observed, the parent catalogues used to define the target sample, and the observing strategy that was chosen after a forecast of the expected performance of the instrument for our typical targets.Conclusions. WEAVE-StePS will go back further in cosmic time than SDSS, extending its reach to encompass more than similar to 6 Gyr. This is nearly half of the age of the Universe. The spectral and redshift range covered by WEAVE-StePS will open a new observational window by continuously tr
UK Research & Innovation (UKRI)
Science & Technology Facilities Council (STFC)
University of Oxford
NOVA
Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research (NWO)
Instituto de Astrofisica de Canarias (IAC)
Depto. de Física de la Tierra y Astrofísica
Fac. de Ciencias Físicas
TRUE
pub