The far-infrared enhanced survey spectrometer for PRIMA: approach and estimated performance
We present the architectural concept for the Far-Infrared Enhanced Survey Spectrometer (FIRESS) for the Probe Mission for far-IR Astrophysics. FIRESS spans the 24 to 235 μm range with four R∼100 slit-fed grating modules, each coupling to a 24 (spatial) × 84 (spectral) pixel array of kinetic inductance detectors. All four arrays are read out simultaneously, and a point source of interest can be coupled to two of the four bands at a time. A Fourier transform module can be engaged over a portion of the FIRESS slits to create a high-resolution mode in which the light is intercepted, processed by the interferometer then reinserted into the path to the grating modules for detection. We provide a simulation and description of the technique that will be used to obtain high-resolution spectra. We identify the most important system requirements imposed by the detector system, finding that they are met with the existing design. Finally, we present our performance modeling, including both direct estimates given our current design status, as well as durable guidelines for developing general-observer programs.
Authors
- C. M. Bradford
- J. D. Smith (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1545-5078)
- M. C. Foote (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1761-1716)
- C. D. Dowell (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0002-0098-6183)
- M. Meixner (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0522-3743)
- Michael Rodgers
- Joseph Green
- Thomas S. Pagano (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4738-442X)
- S. Hailey-Dunsheath
- A. Kogut (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9835-2351)
- Alberto D. Bolatto (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5480-5686)
- K. M. Pontoppidan (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7552-1562)
- Robert J. Calvet
- Logan Foote (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4162-8609)
- R. M. J. Janssen (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9122-9668)
- Alexandra Pope (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8592-2706)
- J. E. McGuire
- Hien Nguyen (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5403-0008)
- D. J. Fixsen (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0543-0926)
- Jason Glenn (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7527-2017)
- Elijah Kane
Institutions
- California Institute of Technology (US)
- Goddard Space Flight Center (US)
- Jet Propulsion Laboratory (US)
- Synopsys (Switzerland) (CH)
- University of Massachusetts Amherst (US)
- Synopsys (United States) (US)
- University of Maryland, College Park (US)
- University of Toledo (US)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Journal of Astronomical Telescopes Instruments and Systems
- Published
- 2025-10-02
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1117/1.jatis.11.3.031627
- Citations
- 6
- Primary Topic
- Astronomical Observations and Instrumentation
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 8.01
Funders
- National Aeronautics and Space Administration
- California Institute of Technology
- Jet Propulsion Laboratory