English

On Prism Cross-Dispersers -- Modelling \'Echelle Spectrograms

Instrumentation and Methods for Astrophysics 2024-01-30 v2 Instrumentation and Detectors Optics

Abstract

In this paper, we elaborate on correctly predicting \'Echelle spectrograms by employing the fully three-dimensional representation of Snell's law to model the effects of prisms as cross-dispersers in \'Echelle spectrographs. We find that it is not sufficient to simply apply the frequently used trigonometric prism dispersion equation to describe recorded spectra. This vector equation approach is not limited to a single dispersive element when modelling multi-prism cross-disperser configurations. Our results help to understand the main levers in an \'Echelle spectrograph as well as contribute to auto-calibration algorithms for minimizing calibration efforts in daily operation.

Keywords

Cite

@article{arxiv.2401.00105,
  title  = {On Prism Cross-Dispersers -- Modelling \'Echelle Spectrograms},
  author = {Jakob Wierzbowski and Bernd Bitnar and Siegfried Hold},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2401.00105},
  year   = {2024}
}

Comments

Prism, Echelle, Cross-Disperser, Snell's law, Sellmeier, QtYETI

R2 v1 2026-06-28T14:04:58.202Z