FIFI-LS - The Facility Far-Infrared Spectrometer for SOFIA

FIFI-LS is the German far-infrared integral field spectrometer for the SOFIA airborne observatory. The instrument offers medium resolution spectroscopy (R ~ a few 1000) in the far-infrared with two independent spectrometers covering 45-110um and 100-210um. The integral field units of the two spectrometers obtain spectra covering concentric square fields-of-views sized 30" and 60", respectively. Both spectrometers can observe simultaneously at any wavelength in their ranges making efficient mapping of far-infrared lines possible.FIFI-LS is being commissioned at the airborne observatory SOFIA first as a PI instrument in spring 2014. During 2015, the commissioning as facility instrument will be complete and the SOFIA observatory will take over the operation of FIFI-LS. The instrument can already be used by the community. Primary science cases are the study of the galactic and extra-galactic interstellar medium and star formation.The capabilities of FIFI-LS on the SOFIA telescope and observing modes will be explained. FIFI-LS offers observing modes for compact sources, extended sources, and mapping. All modes use spatial and spectral dithering. The resulting data products will be 3D-data cubes. The spectral extent will vary between 500km/s and 2500km/s depending on the observing wavelength.The observing parameters will be specified using AOTs, like the other SOFIA instruments, and created via the tool SSPOT which is similar to the Spitzer Space Telescope SPOT tool. The observations will be done in service mode, but SOFIA invites a few investigators to fly onboard SOFIA during (part of) their observations. After a flight, the data get pipeline reduced, quality checked by the SOFIA science staff, and provided to the investigator via the SOFIA data archive.