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arXiv · 2102.01109

The wide-field infrared transient explorer (WINTER)

Nathan P. Lourie·John W. Baker·Richard S. Burruss·Mark Egan·Gábor Fűrész·Danielle Frostig·Allan A. Garcia-Zych·Nicolae Ganciu·Kari Haworth·Erik Hinrichsen·Mansi M. Kasliwal·Viraj R. Karambelkar·Andrew Malonis·Robert A. Simcoe·Jeffry Zolkower
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Abstract

The Wide-Field Infrared Transient Explorer (WINTER) is a new infrared time-domain survey instrument which will be deployed on a dedicated 1 meter robotic telescope at Palomar Observatory. WINTER will perform a seeing-limited time domain survey of the infrared (IR) sky, with a particular emphasis on identifying r-process material in binary neutron star (BNS) merger remnants detected by LIGO. We describe the scientific goals and survey design of the WINTER instrument. With a dedicated trigger and the ability to map the full LIGO O4 positional error contour in the IR to a distance of 190 Mpc within four hours, WINTER will be a powerful kilonova discovery engine and tool for multi-messenger astrophysics investigations. In addition to follow-up observations of merging binaries, WINTER will facilitate a wide range of time-domain astronomical observations, all the while building up a deep coadded image of the static infrared sky suitable for survey science. WINTER's custom camera features six commercial large-format Indium Gallium Arsenide (InGaAs) sensors and a tiled optical system which covers a $>$1-square-degree field of view with 90% fill factor. The instrument observes in Y, J and a short-H (Hs) band tuned to the long-wave cutoff of the InGaAs sensors, covering a wavelength range from 0.9 - 1.7 microns. We present the design of the WINTER instrument and current progress towards final integration at Palomar Observatory and commissioning planned for mid-2021.

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Nathan P. Lourie, John W. Baker, Richard S. Burruss, Mark Egan, Gábor Fűrész, Danielle Frostig, Allan A. Garcia-Zych, Nicolae Ganciu, Kari Haworth, Erik Hinrichsen, Mansi M. Kasliwal, Viraj R. Karambelkar, Andrew Malonis, Robert A. Simcoe, Jeffry Zolkower. 2021-02-01. The wide-field infrared transient explorer (WINTER). https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2561210

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