The Wide Integral-Field Infrared Spectrograph, or WIFIS, is a unique near-infrared integral-field spectrograph with an exceptionally wide field.
It achieved first light on the 2.3-metre Bok telescope at the Steward Observatory in Arizona in 2017. Currently existing near-infrared integral-field spectrographs (IFS) typically have very narrow fields of view (FOV) because they are optimized for observations of high-redshift galaxies, which are relatively small in size. By comparison, WIFIS has a 50″ x 20″ FOV.
WIFIS has the unique capability to observe very extended objects in the near-infrared and has an etendue that is comparable to wide-field, optical IFS. Therefore, WIFIS science will be highly complementary to programs carried out by optical IFS, such as CALIFA, SAMI and MaNGA surveys.
WIFIS science includes:
Nature of star formation within our galaxy
Abundance distributions and kinematics of supernovae ejecta
Stellar populations of early-type galaxies
Large scale kinematics of low-redshift galaxies
Kinematics and star formation of merging galaxies
At the University of Toronto, the team working on WIFIS includes Prof. Dae-Sik Moon (PI), Prof. Suresh Sivanandam (Project/Instrument Scientist), Dr. Richard Chou, and graduate students Mark Ma, Elliot Meyer, Miranda Jarvis, Bryn Orth-Lashley, and Max Millar-Blanchaer.
Collaborating institutions include the University of Arizona (Prof. Josh Eisner), Korean Astronomy and Space Science Institute, University of Florida.
For more details regarding sensitivity, optical design and current status, visit Prof. Sivanandam’s WIFIS page.
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