OTELO
Encyclopedia
OTELO is an emission line object survey using OSIRIS
tunable filters in selected atmospheric windows relatively free of sky emission lines. The total survey sky area is of 1 square degree (0.30 msr
) distributed in different high latitude and low extinction fields with enough angular separations
. A 5 sigma depth of 8×10−18 (erg/cm²)/s (8 zW/m² or 9×10−24 hp
/yd²) allows detecting objects of equivalent width
s down to 6. OTELO will observe objects with an age equivalent to 10% of the age of the Universe
. Given the observing procedure, OTELO will allow studying a clearly defined volume of the Universe at a known flux limit. OTELO will complement spectroscopic surveys since the selection criteria are completely different: not broad band based but emission line based, which will allow detecting faint continuum objects.
The scientific field that OTELO will allow tackling is very wide, and encompasses evolutionary studies of Ly alpha emitters, QSO, AGN, star-forming populations (specifically the faint end luminosity), Emissión line ellipticals (detectable depending upon its evolution), chemical evolution of the Universe between z=0.24 and z=1.5, mass/luminosity relation vs. morphological type and redshift (up to z=1.5), Tully-Fisher relation up to z=1.5 and derivation of cosmological parameters. Other studies include galactic structure and Galactic objects (PN, peculiar stars, cataclysmic variables).
OSIRIS
OSIRIS is the name of three entirely separate astronomical instruments. The duplication of names is coincidental, partly driven by two scientific teams trying to make acronyms using similar words.-OH-Suppressing Infrared Integral Field Spectrograph:...
tunable filters in selected atmospheric windows relatively free of sky emission lines. The total survey sky area is of 1 square degree (0.30 msr
Steradian
The steradian is the SI unit of solid angle. It is used to describe two-dimensional angular spans in three-dimensional space, analogous to the way in which the radian describes angles in a plane...
) distributed in different high latitude and low extinction fields with enough angular separations
Angular distance
In mathematics and all natural sciences , the angular distance between two point objects, as observed from a location different from either of these objects, is the size of the angle between the two directions originating from...
. A 5 sigma depth of 8×10−18 (erg/cm²)/s (8 zW/m² or 9×10−24 hp
Horsepower
Horsepower is the name of several units of measurement of power. The most common definitions equal between 735.5 and 750 watts.Horsepower was originally defined to compare the output of steam engines with the power of draft horses in continuous operation. The unit was widely adopted to measure the...
/yd²) allows detecting objects of equivalent width
Equivalent width
The equivalent width of a spectral line is a measure of the area of the line on a plot of intensity versus wavelength. It is found by forming a rectangle with a height equal to that of continuum emission, and finding the width such that the area of the rectangle is equal to the area in the spectral...
s down to 6. OTELO will observe objects with an age equivalent to 10% of the age of the Universe
Age of the universe
The age of the universe is the time elapsed since the Big Bang posited by the most widely accepted scientific model of cosmology. The best current estimate of the age of the universe is 13.75 ± 0.13 billion years within the Lambda-CDM concordance model...
. Given the observing procedure, OTELO will allow studying a clearly defined volume of the Universe at a known flux limit. OTELO will complement spectroscopic surveys since the selection criteria are completely different: not broad band based but emission line based, which will allow detecting faint continuum objects.
The scientific field that OTELO will allow tackling is very wide, and encompasses evolutionary studies of Ly alpha emitters, QSO, AGN, star-forming populations (specifically the faint end luminosity), Emissión line ellipticals (detectable depending upon its evolution), chemical evolution of the Universe between z=0.24 and z=1.5, mass/luminosity relation vs. morphological type and redshift (up to z=1.5), Tully-Fisher relation up to z=1.5 and derivation of cosmological parameters. Other studies include galactic structure and Galactic objects (PN, peculiar stars, cataclysmic variables).