DOE OSTI · 3376997
Flux Cube Reconstruction from Slitless Spectroscopy
Abstract
Slitless spectroscopy enables efficient, large-area surveys without target preselection, yet it faces challenges from source blending, higher noise, and lost spatial–spectral information. We present an advanced, nonparametric, data-driven algorithm that leverages multiple dispersion angles to reconstruct three-dimensional flux distributions, providing low-resolution integral field unit capabilities from slitless data. By treating each pixel as an independent element, our method naturally handles source confusion without requiring prior assumptions regarding redshifts, templates, or model libraries. We validate the algorithm using simulated Roman Space Telescope wide-field slitless spectroscopy images that are equivalent to what is expected from the High-Latitude Time-Domain Survey. First, we demonstrate that a host-galaxy model reconstructed from multiple dispersion angles can be used to accurately subtract host light from a transient, recovering a Type Ia supernova spectrum with minimal bias. Second, we showcase a high-fidelity flux-cube reconstruction of a complex galaxy, successfully measuring the redshift and recovering continuum, emission, and absorption features. This approach highlights the potential of multi-dispersion-angle slitless data to provide spatially resolved spectral information in a nonparametric way, which is traditionally accessible only with integral field spectroscopy, opening a new window into large, unbiased, and spatially resolved studies of galaxy evolution.
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Griggio, M. [Space Telescope Science Institute, Baltimore, MD (United States)] (ORCID:0000000250601379), Ryan, Jr., R. E. [Space Telescope Science Institute, Baltimore, MD (United States)] (ORCID:0000000308941588), Pirzkal, N. [Space Telescope Science Institute, Baltimore, MD (United States)] (ORCID:0000000333825941), Astraatmadja, T. L. [Space Telescope Science Institute, Baltimore, MD (United States)] (ORCID:0000000298882704), Casertano, S. [Space Telescope Science Institute, Baltimore, MD (United States)], Perlmutter, S. [Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States); University of California, Berkeley, CA (United States)] (ORCID:0000000244364661), Rubin, D. [Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States); University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa, Honolulu, HI (United States)] (ORCID:0000000154024647), Aldering, G. [Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States)], DerKacy, J. M. [Space Telescope Science Institute, Baltimore, MD (United States)] (ORCID:0000000275666080), Fox, O. D. [Space Telescope Science Institute, Baltimore, MD (United States)] (ORCID:0000000322381572), Fruchter, A. S. [Space Telescope Science Institute, Baltimore, MD (United States)] (ORCID:0000000266529279), Galbany, L. [Institute of Space Sciences (ICE-CSIC), Barcelona (Spain); Institut d’Estudis Espacials de Catalunya (IEEC), Barcelona (Spain)] (ORCID:0000000212966887), Hounsell, R. [University of Maryland Baltimore County, MD (United States); NASA—Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD (United States)] (ORCID:0000000204764206), Isaacs, A. M. [University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN (United States)] (ORCID:0009000695384781), Kelly, P. L. [University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN (United States)] (ORCID:000000033142997X), Kessler, R. S. [University of Chicago, IL (United States); Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory (FNAL), Batavia, IL (United States)] (ORCID:0000000332210419), Rose, B. M. [Baylor University, Waco, TX (United States)] (ORCID:0000000218738973), Roychowdhury, J. [Duke University, Durham, NC (United States)] (ORCID:0009000594700765), Sako, M. [University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA (United States)] (ORCID:0000000327647093), Scolnic, D. M. [Duke University, Durham, NC (United States)] (ORCID:0000000249345849), Strolger, L. -G. [Space Telescope Science Institute, Baltimore, MD (United States)] (ORCID:0000000277564440). 2026-06-24. Flux Cube Reconstruction from Slitless Spectroscopy. https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-3881%2Fae7a48
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