Validating the SCALES DRP: A Performance Study of the Medium-Resolution IFS Mode

@misc{unni2026validating,
  title = {{Validating the SCALES DRP: A Performance Study of the Medium-Resolution IFS Mode}},
  author = {Athira Unni and Steph Sallum and Max Brodheim and Rosalie McGurk and Andy Skemer and Matthew Brown and Peyton Benac and Michael P. Fitzgerald and Deno Stelter and Dusty Reichwein and Aaron Hunter and William T. S. Deich and Isabel Kain and Mackenzie Lach},
  howpublished = {arXiv},
  year = {2026},
  month = sep,
  doi = {10.48550/arxiv.2609.04728},
  eprint = {2609.04728},
  archivePrefix = {arXiv},
  url = {https://arxiv.org/abs/2609.04728},
  note = {CC BY 4.0},
}

TY  - UNPB
TI  - Validating the SCALES DRP: A Performance Study of the Medium-Resolution IFS Mode
AU  - Athira Unni
AU  - Steph Sallum
AU  - Max Brodheim
AU  - Rosalie McGurk
AU  - Andy Skemer
AU  - Matthew Brown
AU  - Peyton Benac
AU  - Michael P. Fitzgerald
AU  - Deno Stelter
AU  - Dusty Reichwein
AU  - Aaron Hunter
AU  - William T. S. Deich
AU  - Isabel Kain
AU  - Mackenzie Lach
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/09/04
PB  - arXiv
DO  - 10.48550/arxiv.2609.04728
UR  - https://arxiv.org/abs/2609.04728
AB  - We present a performance verification of the medium-resolution integral field spectrograph (IFS) mode of the SCALES Data Reduction Pipeline (SCALES-DRP) using data obtained during recent cryogenic cooldown testing. SCALES (Slicer Combined with Array of Lenslets for Exoplanet Spectroscopy), scheduled for deployment on the Keck II Telescope in late 2026, will be the first facility-class high-contrast thermal-infrared IFS, operating over the 2-5 micrometer wavelength range. The SCALES-DRP, developed within the Keck Data Reduction Pipeline Framework and implemented in Python, converts raw detector reads into calibrated three-dimensional datacubes using rectification matrices derived from position-dependent monochromatic lenslet point-spread functions, and supports both optimal and chi-sqaure-based spectral extraction to maximize signal-to-noise and extraction fidelity. We present laboratory verification results for the medium-resolution IFS mode, which combines a 0.34x0.36 arcsec lenslet subarray with an image slicer to achieve spectral resolutions of R ~ 2,000 - 5,000, focusing on the performance of the rectification matrices and the robustness of the extraction algorithms. These results demonstrate the readiness of the SCALES-DRP for instrument commissioning and early science operations. The pipeline is publicly available on GitHub.
ER  -