Reduction and analysis of MUSE data

Abstract

MUSE, the Multi Unit Spectroscopic Explorer, is a 2nd generation integral-field spectrograph under final assembly to see first light at the Very Large Telescope in 2013. By capturing ~ 90000 optical spectra in a single exposure, MUSE represents a challenge for data reduction and analysis. We summarise here the main features of the Data Reduction System, as well as some of the tools under development by the MUSE consortium and the DAHLIA team to handle the large MUSE datacubes (about 4x?10^8 pixels) to recover the original astrophysical signal.