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The Optical Corrector for the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument

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24 Pith papers citing it
15 external citations · Pith
Background 90% of classified citations
abstract

The Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI) is currently measuring the spectra of 40\,million galaxies and quasars, the largest such survey ever made to probe the nature of cosmological dark energy. The 4-meter Mayall telescope at Kitt Peak National Observatory has been adapted for DESI, including the construction of a 3.2-degree diameter prime focus corrector that focuses astronomical light onto a 0.8-meter diameter focal surface with excellent image quality over the DESI bandpass of 360-980nm. The wide-field corrector includes six lenses, as large as 1.1-meters in diameter and as heavy as 237\,kilograms, including two counter-rotating wedged lenses that correct for atmospheric dispersion over Zenith angles from 0 to 60 degrees. The lenses, cells, and barrel assembly all meet precise alignment tolerances on the order of tens of microns. The barrel alignment is maintained throughout a range of observing angles and temperature excursions in the Mayall dome by use of a hexapod, which is itself supported by a new cage, ring, and truss structure. In this paper we describe the design, fabrication, and performance of the new corrector and associated structure, focusing on how they meet DESI requirements. In particular we describe the prescription and specifications of the lenses, design choices and error budgeting of the barrel assembly, stray light mitigations, and integration and test at the Mayall telescope. We conclude with some validation highlights that demonstrate the successful corrector on-sky performance, and list some lessons learned during the multi-year fabrication phase.

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representative citing papers

Clustering of high-redshift quasars with DESI DR2

astro-ph.CO · 2026-06-25 · unverdicted · novelty 7.0

DESI DR2 quasar sample yields bias b_Q(z=2.48)=3.61 that evolves as b(z)=0.230[(1+z)^2-6.565]+2.394, consistent with constant ~10^12 M_sun halo mass and weak luminosity dependence at fixed redshift.

Cosmological analysis of the DESI DR1 Lyman alpha 1D power spectrum

astro-ph.CO · 2026-01-29 · unverdicted · novelty 7.0

DESI DR1 Lyman-alpha data yields Δ²★=0.379±0.032 and n★=-2.309±0.019 at k★=0.009 km⁻¹s and z=3, sharpening N_eff, α_s, and β_s constraints by factors of 1.18-1.90 when combined with other probes.

Combined tracer analysis for DESI 2024 BAO

astro-ph.CO · 2025-08-07 · accept · novelty 5.0

Combining LRG and ELG tracers with bias weighting improves BAO constraints by 11% on alpha_iso and 7% on alpha_AP in DESI DR1 data for the 0.8<z<1.1 bin.

Cosmological constraints from the DESI DR1 Bispectrum Full-Shape and DR2 BAO

astro-ph.CO · 2026-06-22 · unverdicted · novelty 4.0

DESI DR1 bispectrum plus DR2 BAO data raise σ8 and S8 by ~1.1-1.2σ while tightening uncertainties, shift DESI-only w0waCDM toward ΛCDM, produce a 2.8σ deviation from ΛCDM when combined with CMB, and yield a neutrino mass sum posterior of 0.26±0.17 eV.

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