The Apache Point Observatory Galactic Evolution Experiment (APOGEE) in Sloan Digital Sky Survey III (SDSS-III)

Abstract

The Apache Point Observatory Galactic Evolution Experiment (APOGEE) is a large-scale, near-infrared ( H -band), high-resolution ( R ~ 30,000), high S / N (≳100) spectroscopic survey of Milky Way stellar populations. APOGEE will operate from 1.51–1.68μm, a region that includes useful absorption lines from at least fifteen chemical species including α, odd- Z , and iron peak elements. The APOGEE instrument has a novel design featuring 300 science fibers feeding light to a mosaiced VPH grating and a six-element camera encased in a liquid nitrogen-cooled cryostat. A three year bright-time observing campaign will enable APOGEE to observe approximately 100,000 red giants across the Galactic bulge, disk and halo.