NIRCam WFSS Field of View
JWST NIRCam wide field slitless spectroscopy observations yield spectra from sources within a field of view that varies with the selected filter and grism.
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The effective field of view of the NIRCam wide field slitless spectroscopy (WFSS) mode varies with the cross filter used in combination with the grism. At 3.95 µm, light is undeviated by the grisms, appearing in the same location on the detector as it would for imaging observations. At other wavelengths, the grisms disperse light by 1 nm/pixel along detector rows for Grism R and columns for Grism C. Thus, depending on the location of the source and the grism used, some (or all) of the spectrum may fall on the detector pixels, while the rest (or all) may be lost.
The following areas on the sky are defined for a WFSS observation with a given filter and grism:
- effective field of view—sources yield either partial or complete spectra on a detector;
- full spectrum field of view—sources yield complete spectra on a detector;
- optimal field of view—sources yield complete spectra on a detector when using either Grism R or Grism C.
The extents of all of these areas are provided below for all filters available for WFSS observations: the 12 medium and wide filters in the long wavelength (LW) channel (2.4–5.0 µm).
Note that Grism C observations may be affected by the coronagraph masks and substrate. This is not an issue for F444W, F460M, or F480M. For all other filters, the sky background and any sources present in the coronagraph area will complicate estimates of the background and contamination.
These fields of view are shown in APT Aladin. By default, Aladin shows the full spectrum field of view. The larger effective field of view may be shown by selecting the option to show partial spectra region. Note these regions are most easily viewed before adding the direct image and out-of-field images to the observations in APT.
Update from commissioning data
The grism dispersions (nm/pix) measured during commissioning are about 2-4% smaller than predicted pre-flight, resulting in slightly longer spectra on the detectors. The longer spectra cause a decrease in the size of the full spectrum field of view (FOV). The figures below (Figures 2–14) show the old and new FOVs for F322W2 for both Grism C and Grism R.
The remainder of this article below presents the pre-flight FOVs.
Full spectrum field of view tables
Grism R
Table 1 contains the extent of the full spectrum field of view when Grism R is paired with each available filter for module A and B. The coordinates are given in pixels in each detector's ideal coordinate system.
Table 1. Full spectrum field of view for NIRCam WFSS Grism R observations in each available filter
GRISMR + FILTER | Module A xλmin | Module A xλmax | Module B xλmin | Module B xλmax |
---|---|---|---|---|
F250M | 1530 | 2164 | 509 | -130 |
F277W | 1560 | 2164 | 479 | -130 |
F300M | 1172 | 2164 | 877 | -130 |
F322W2 | 1550 | 1827 | 499 | 202 |
F335M | 833 | 2164 | 1216 | -130 |
F356W | 883 | 1867 | 1166 | 162 |
F360M | 634 | 2046 | 1415 | -17 |
F410M | 186 | 1548 | 1863 | 481 |
F430M | -130 | 1519 | 2164 | 510 |
F444W | 166 | 841 | 1883 | 1188 |
F460M | -130 | 1150 | 2164 | 878 |
F480M | -130 | 881 | 2164 | 1148 |
Grism C
Table 2 contains the extent of the full spectrum field of view when Grism C is paired with each available filter for module A and B. The coordinates are given in pixels in each detector's ideal coordinate system.
Table 2. Full spectrum field of view for NIRCam WFSS Grism C observations in each available filter
GRISMC + FILTER | Module A yλmin | Module A yλmax | Module B yλmin | Module B yλmax |
---|---|---|---|---|
F250M | 1530 | 2698 | 1530 | 2698 |
F277W | 1560 | 2698 | 1560 | 2698 |
F300M | 1172 | 2698 | 1162 | 2698 |
F322W2 | 1550 | 1827 | 1540 | 1837 |
F335M | 833 | 2295 | 823 | 2305 |
F356W | 883 | 1867 | 873 | 1877 |
F360M | 634 | 2046 | 624 | 2057 |
F410M | 186 | 1548 | 176 | 1558 |
F430M | -172 | 1519 | -182 | 1529 |
F444W | 166 | 841 | 156 | 851 |
F460M | -194 | 1150 | -198 | 1161 |
F480M | -194 | 881 | -198 | 891 |
Effective and full spectrum field of view figures
The following plots illustrate the effective and full spectrum field of view for every available combination of grism and filters. Examples are shown of sources yielding spectra that fall outside, partially within, and fully within the LW detectors. Note the wider filters (e.g., F322W2) yield longer spectra and thus smaller full spectrum fields of view.
F250M
F277W
F300M
F322W2
F335M
F356W
F360M
F410M
F430M
F444W
F460M
F480M
Optimal fields
Observations with both grisms are useful to mitigate confusion from overlapping spectra. Complete spectra from both grisms are only obtained for sources within the optimal fields.
Table 3 and Figure 14 report the optimal fields in modules A and B for the 12 NIRCam filters supported for WFSS. Each optimal field is a square with center coordinates and side length given in pixels. The area of each optimal field is expressed both as a fraction of the full detector area and in arcmin2. The wavelength range of each filter is given by λmin to λmax.
Filter | λmin (µm) | λmax (µm) | X center Module A (pixels) | X center Module B (pixels) | Y center (pixels) | Length on | Fraction of detector area | Area (arcmin2) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
F250M | 2.412 | 2.595 | 1790 | 2962 | 1789 | 502 | 0.0606 | 0.278 |
F277W | 2.416 | 3.127 | 1787 | 2965 | 1787 | 506 | 0.0615 | 0.282 |
F300M | 2.829 | 3.155 | 1579 | 3173 | 1580 | 919 | 0.203 | 0.931 |
F322W2 | 2.430 | 4.013 | 1749 | 3003 | 1749 | 457 | 0.050 | 0.23 |
F335M | 3.177 | 3.538 | 1407 | 3345 | 1407 | 1267 | 0.386 | 1.77 |
F356W | 3.140 | 3.980 | 1409 | 3343 | 1410 | 1200 | 0.346 | 1.59 |
F360M | 3.427 | 3.814 | 1280 | 3472 | 1281 | 1517 | 0.553 | 2.54 |
F410M | 3.864 | 4.301 | 887 | 3865 | 887 | 1603 | 0.617 | 2.83 |
F430M | 4.167 | 4.398 | 796 | 3956 | 797 | 1592 | 0.609 | 2.80 |
F444W | 3.880 | 4.986 | 537 | 4215 | 538 | 934 | 0.210 | 0.962 |
F460M | 4.515 | 4.747 | 622 | 4130 | 622 | 1243 | 0.371 | 1.70 |
F480M | 4.662 | 4.977 | 507 | 4245 | 507 | 1013 | 0.247 | 1.13 |
References
Greene, T. et al. 2017, JATIS, 035001
λ = 2.4 to 5 μm spectroscopy with the James Webb Space Telescope Near-Infrared Camera
Robberto, M. 2017, JWST-STScI-005995,
An Analysis of the Sky Areas Mapped by NIRCam LW Grisms