Note on Spectroscopy with Adaptive Optics

Abstract

The performance of adaptive optics (AO) systems is more often discussed in the context of imaging capability. However, it is also a powerful front-end optics for a spectrograph to gain physical and chemical informations in diminutive objects. We have dedicated ourselves to spectroscopy with AO at Subaru, aiming unique science relatively not explored to date. In the course of the process, we have gradually learned pros and cons of AO spectroscopy. We discuss following topics in this paper using actual case studies as much as possible.