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abstract: 'FLAMINGOS-2 (PI: S. Eikenberry) is a \$5M facility-class near-infrared (1-2.5 ) multi-object spectrometer and wide-field imager being built at the University of Florida for Gemini South. Here we highlight the capabilities of FLAMINGOS-2, as it will be an ideal instrument for surveying the accreting binary population in the Galactic Center.'
author:
- 'S. Nicholas Raines, Stephen S. Eikenberry, and Reba M. Bandyopadhyay'
title: 'FLAMINGOS-2: A Near-IR Multi-Object Spectrometer Ideal for Surveying the Galactic Center'
---

Introduction
============

[[*Chandra *]{}]{}observations have shown that there is a much larger population of accreting binaries in our Galaxy than was previously recognized, with a particular concentration in the Galactic Center (GC; Wang [[*et al.*]{}]{} 2002; Muno [[*et al.*]{}]{} 2003). IR spectroscopy is the only way to definitively identify the true stellar counterparts to these X-ray sources ([[*e.g. *]{}]{}Bandyopadhyay [[*et al.*]{