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The Robotic Multi-Object Focal Plane System of the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI)

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arxiv 2205.09014 v1 pith:CEAAX3WR submitted 2022-05-18 astro-ph.IM astro-ph.CO

The Robotic Multi-Object Focal Plane System of the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI)

Joseph Harry Silber , Parker Fagrelius , Kevin Fanning , Michael Schubnell , Jessica Nicole Aguilar , Steven Ahlen , Jon Ameel , Otger Ballester
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classification astro-ph.IM astro-ph.CO
keywords desisystemroboticcamerasdarkenergyfibersfocal
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A system of 5,020 robotic fiber positioners was installed in 2019 on the Mayall Telescope, at Kitt Peak National Observatory. The robots automatically re-target their optical fibers every 10 - 20 minutes, each to a precision of several microns, with a reconfiguration time less than 2 minutes. Over the next five years, they will enable the newly-constructed Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI) to measure the spectra of 35 million galaxies and quasars. DESI will produce the largest 3D map of the universe to date and measure the expansion history of the cosmos. In addition to the 5,020 robotic positioners and optical fibers, DESI's Focal Plane System includes 6 guide cameras, 4 wavefront cameras, 123 fiducial point sources, and a metrology camera mounted at the primary mirror. The system also includes associated structural, thermal, and electrical systems. In all, it contains over 675,000 individual parts. We discuss the design, construction, quality control, and integration of all these components. We include a summary of the key requirements, the review and acceptance process, on-sky validations of requirements, and lessons learned for future multi-object, fiber-fed spectrographs.

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Cited by 19 Pith papers

Reviewed papers in the Pith corpus that reference this work. Sorted by Pith novelty score.

  1. Measurement of the galaxy-velocity power spectrum of DESI tracers with the kinematic Sunyaev-Zeldovich effect using DESI DR2 and ACT DR6

    astro-ph.CO 2026-04 unverdicted novelty 7.0

    DESI DR2 and ACT DR6 data yield 17σ LRG-velocity, 8.3σ ELG-velocity, and 6.8σ QSO-velocity detections plus a 3.1σ velocity-velocity signal, producing f_NL^loc = 15.9_{-34.4}^{+34.6} from the velocity field.

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

    astro-ph.CO 2026-01 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.

  3. DESI DR2 Results II: Measurements of Baryon Acoustic Oscillations and Cosmological Constraints

    astro-ph.CO 2025-03 accept novelty 7.0

    DESI DR2 BAO data exhibits 2.3 sigma tension with CMB in Lambda-CDM but prefers evolving dark energy (w0 > -1, wa < 0) at 3.1 sigma with CMB and 2.8-4.2 sigma when including supernovae.

  4. DESI 2024 VI: Cosmological Constraints from the Measurements of Baryon Acoustic Oscillations

    astro-ph.CO 2024-04 accept novelty 7.0

    First-year DESI BAO data are consistent with flat LambdaCDM and, when combined with CMB, show a 2.5-3.9 sigma preference for evolving dark energy (w0 > -1, wa < 0) that strengthens with certain supernova datasets.

  5. Alcock-Paczynski Blinding Scheme for the Ly-$\alpha$ Forest Analysis

    astro-ph.CO 2026-07 accept novelty 6.0

    A catalog-level Alcock-Paczynski wavelength-shift blinding scheme for the Lyman-alpha forest robustly hides the expansion history and correctly shifts the BAO peak on DESI DR1 data and mocks.

  6. The 3D clustering of Lyman Alpha Emitters measured with DESI

    astro-ph.CO 2026-06 unverdicted novelty 6.0

    DESI LAE clustering measurements give a linear bias of 2.31-2.62 with constraints on radiative transfer effects and halo occupation from correlation functions and power spectra.

  7. $H_0$ Without the Sound Horizon (or Supernovae): A 2% Measurement in DESI DR1

    astro-ph.CO 2025-10 conditional novelty 6.0

    A heuristic power-spectrum rescaling applied to DESI DR1 BAO data plus CMB acoustic scale anchor yields H0 values of 69.2 to 70.3 km/s/Mpc at sub-2% precision across three independent late-time datasets.

  8. DESI 2024 VII: Cosmological Constraints from the Full-Shape Modeling of Clustering Measurements

    astro-ph.CO 2024-11 accept novelty 6.0

    DESI DR1 full-shape clustering yields Ω_m = 0.2962 ± 0.0095 and σ_8 = 0.842 ± 0.034 in flat ΛCDM, tightening to H_0 = 68.40 ± 0.27 km/s/Mpc with CMB and DESY3, while favoring w_0 > -1, w_a < 0 and limiting neutrino ma...

  9. DESI 2024 V: Full-Shape Galaxy Clustering from Galaxies and Quasars

    astro-ph.CO 2024-11 accept novelty 6.0

    DESI DR1 full-shape galaxy clustering constrains Omega_m = 0.296 ± 0.010, H0 = 68.63 ± 0.79 km/s/Mpc, and sigma_8 = 0.841 ± 0.034, consistent with LambdaCDM and Planck.

  10. DESI 2024 IV: Baryon Acoustic Oscillations from the Lyman Alpha Forest

    astro-ph.CO 2024-04 accept novelty 6.0

    DESI measures BAO from the Lyα forest at z_eff=2.33, reporting H(z) = (239.2 ± 4.8) (147.09 Mpc/rd) km/s/Mpc and DM(z) = (5.84 ± 0.14) (rd/147.09 Mpc) Gpc.

  11. Beyond traditional emission-line diagnostics: using autoencoders to uncover active galactic nuclei in DESI spectra

    astro-ph.GA 2026-07 accept novelty 5.5

    SPENDER autoencoder plus k-d tree nearest-neighbor classification on DESI spectra identifies AGN and broad-line AGN at accuracies 0.952 and 0.965, recovering sources missed by single-line diagnostics.

  12. Local primordial non-Gaussianity using cross-correlations of DESI tracers

    astro-ph.CO 2026-04 conditional novelty 5.0

    Cross-correlating LRG and QSO samples in DESI DR1 yields f_NL^loc = 2.1 with 68% uncertainties of +8.8 and -8.3, an incremental improvement over auto-correlations alone.

  13. Combined tracer analysis for DESI 2024 BAO

    astro-ph.CO 2025-08 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.

  14. Constraints on Neutrino Physics from DESI DR2 BAO and DR1 Full Shape

    astro-ph.CO 2025-03 conditional novelty 5.0

    DESI DR2 BAO and full-shape data plus CMB yield ∑m_ν < 0.0642 eV (95% CL) under ΛCDM, in 3σ tension with oscillation lower limits, relaxed to <0.163 eV in w0waCDM.

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

    astro-ph.CO 2026-06 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 m...

  16. DESI Data Release 2 ELGs: Property-dependent subsamples, imaging systematics, and clustering

    astro-ph.CO 2026-06 unverdicted novelty 4.0

    Property-dependent systematic weights derived separately on ELG subsamples, with separate DES footprint treatment, mitigate spurious clustering in ~10% of subsamples but are not optimal for the full sample.

  17. Testing Scale-Dependent Modified Gravity with DESI DR1

    astro-ph.CO 2026-04 accept novelty 4.0

    DESI DR1 constrains the modified gravity parameter to log10 |f_R0| < -4.59 at 95% CL, implying no detectable fifth force on scales below about 18 Mpc.

  18. Extended Dark Energy analysis using DESI DR2 BAO measurements

    astro-ph.CO 2025-03 conditional novelty 4.0

    Extended analysis of DESI DR2 data confirms robust evidence for dynamical dark energy with phantom crossing preference, stable under parametric and non-parametric modeling.

  19. DESI DR2 Results I: Baryon Acoustic Oscillations from the Lyman Alpha Forest

    astro-ph.CO 2025-03 accept novelty 4.0

    DESI DR2 delivers 0.65% precision BAO measurements from the LyA forest at z_eff=2.33, with D_H/r_d = 8.632 ± 0.098 ± 0.026 and D_M/r_d = 38.99 ± 0.52 ± 0.12.