BigBOSS: a stage IV dark energy redshift survey

BigBOSS is a Stage IV dark energy experiment based on proven techniques to study baryon acoustic oscillations and the growth of large scale structure. The 2010 Astronomy and Astrophysics Decadal Survey labeled dark energy as a key area of exploration. BigBOSS is designed to perform a 14,000 square degree survey of 20 million galaxies and quasi-stellar objects. The project involves installation of a new instrument on the Mayall 4m telescope, operated by the National Optical Astronomy Observatory. The instrument includes a new optical widefield corrector, a 5,000 fiber actuator system, and a multi-object spectrometer. Systems engineering flowdown from data set requirements to instrument requirements are discussed, along with the trade considerations and a pre-conceptual baseline design of the widefield optical corrector, spectrometer and fiber positioner systems.