Speaker
Description
A new mirror-slicer optical instrument, named MAAT, will allow the OSIRIS spectrograph on the Gran Telescopio de CANARIAS (GTC) the capability to perform Integral-Field Spectroscopy over a seeing-limited FoV 12.0” × 8.5" with a slice width of 0.303". MAAT will enhance the resolution power of OSIRIS by 1.6 times as compared to its 0.6" long-slit. All the eleven OSIRIS grisms and volume-phase holographic gratings will be available to provide broad spectral coverage with resolution R=600 up to 4100 in the 360-1000 nm wavelength range. MAAT top-level requirements will broaden its use to the needs of the GTC astronomical community for a wide range of competitive science topics that covers the entire astronomy given its unique observing capabilities. The GTC equipped with OSIRIS+MAAT will also play a fundamental role in synergy with worldwide facilities, in particular the NOT operating on the ORM at La Palma. I will highlight the focus on a selected set of outstanding science topics enabled by the Nordic-Spanish team supporting this project in different areas of expertise, and I will present an overview of the instrument design, performance and status.
