3-04
Leslie Looney
University of Illinois
FIFI+LS
The Field-imaging Far-Infrared Line Spectrometer (FIFI-LS) is a science instrument observing onboard SOFIA for the last 7+ years with 30+ cooling cycles and 100+ flights. FIFI-LS provides simultaneous observations in two spectral channels. The Blue channel is sensitive from 51 to 125 μm and the Red channel from 115 to 203 μm. The instantaneous spectral coverage is 1000–3000 km/s in the Blue and 800–2500 km/s in the Red channel with a spectral resolution between 150 km/s and 600 km/s. Each spectral channel observes a field of view of 5x5 spatial pixels on the sky (6” for Blue and 12” for Red) with 16 spectral pixels for each spatial pixel. With the unique capability of dual-line integral-field observations, FIFI-LS can measure multiple fine structure cooling lines, as well as some molecular lines, which deliver critical constraints of the Interstellar Medium and star forming environments. Although PACS on Herschel covered much of the FIFI-LS band, their observations of the ISM and star formation environments have opened many questions that FIFI-LS is now addressing. However, the 90s-era Ge:Ga photoconductor detectors on FIFI-LS limit large surveys of galaxies due to the limited time of flight series. In this talk, we present an upgrade path for FIFI-LS, named FIFI+LS that takes advantage of advances in the new kinetic inductance detector (KID) arrays available. Such an upgrade will 1) increase sensitivity by ≥ sqrt(2) (possibly up to 2.5) and mapping speed by a factor of ≥ 3.5 for extended objects (possibly up to 10), 2) increase the number of spaxels to 9 x 7 and the FOV by factor of 1.75, 3) improve the beam sampling by using 5" pixels in the blue (FOV of 45" x 35") and 10" pixels in the red (FOV of 90" x 70”), and 4) increased spectral pixels to 64 to allow better, simultaneous determinations of the PWV from the target spectra themselves, providing more observing efficiency.
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