SPIP is a new-generation near-infrared spectropolarimeter / high-precision velocimeter to be mounted at the 2m Telescope Bernard Lyot (TBL) at Pic du Midi de Bigorre, the French Pyrénées astronomical observatory (alt. 2877 m), by end-2024, and mostly copied from SPIRou in operation at the 3.6 Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope (MaunaKea, Hawaii, alt. 4200 m) since 2018. Observing in the 0.95-2.5 μm range (YJHK bands), SPIP, like SPIRou, will be dedicated to the detection and characterization of planetary worlds around nearby red dwarfs and to the study of how stellar magnetic fields impact star / planet formation. This paper presents the work performed on integrating and testing the cryogenic spectrograph unit (cooled down at 70K and thermally stabilized at 1mK), benefiting from both the robustness of SPIRou and the design improvements implemented for SPIP.
SPIP is a new instrument for the 2m Télescope Bernard Lyot (TBL) at Pic du Midi, located in the French Pyrénées. Observing in the 0.95-2.5 μm range (YJHK bands), SPIP at TBL will team with SPIRou at the 3.6m CFHT (Maunakea, Hawaii), aiming together at detecting and characterizing planetary worlds around nearby red dwarfs, and at documenting magnetized star / planet formation. This paper describes the instrument sub-systems integration and validation tests performed in Toulouse (France) with a particular focus on the H4RG detector, failure analysis and mitigation.
SPIP is a near infrared (nIR) echelle spectropolarimeter and a high-precision velocimeter for the 2-m Telescope Bernard Lyot (TBL – Pic du Midi, France), a twin version of SPIRou, mounted at the 3.6-m Canada France Hawaii Telescope (CFHT - Maunakea, Hawaii). This new generation instrument aims at detecting planetary worlds and Earth-like planets orbiting nearby red dwarfs, and at studying the impact of stellar magnetic fields on the formation of low-mass stars and their planets. The cryogenic spectrograph, cooled down at 70 K, is a fiber-fed double-pass cross-dispersed echelle spectrograph, covering the YJHK spectral bands (0.95-2.5 µm) in a single exposure. Among the key instrument parameters, high resolving power (of 70k) and long-term thermal stability (at a level better than 1 mK) are mandatory to achieve a relative radial velocity precision of 1-2 m/s. The engineering team at OMP / IRAP in Toulouse (France) took up the challenge of adapting and improving the SPIRou concept for SPIP to become the logical complement of SPIRou, to be used on the largest telescope in France for most of the available observing time. In this paper, we describe the work performed on the design, integration and in-lab tests on the assembled instrument in Toulouse. An evolved design on the Cassegrain unit, a completely new version of the spectrograph thermal insulation, as well as a number of minor upgrades with respect to SPIRou, should allow SPIP to be even more precise, stable and efficient than SPIRou
SPIRou is an innovative near infra-red echelle spectropolarimeter and a high-precision velocimeter for the 3.6 m Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope (CFHT – Mauna Kea, Hawaii). This new generation instrument aims at detecting planetary worlds and Earth-like planets of nearby red dwarfs, in habitable zone, and studying the role of the stellar magnetic field during the process of low-mass stars / planets formation. The cryogenic spectrograph unit, cooled down at 80 K, is a fiber fed double-pass cross dispersed echelle spectrograph which works in the 0.98-2.40 μm wavelength range, allowing the coverage of the YJHK bands in a single exposure. Among the key parameters, a long-term thermal stability better than 2 mK, a relative radial velocity better than 1 m.s -1 and a spectral resolution of 70K are required. After ~ 1 year of assembly, integration and tests at IRAP/OMP (Toulouse, France) during 2016/2017, SPIRou was then shipped to Hawaii and completely re-integrated at CFHT during February 2018. A full instrument first light was performed on 24th of April 2018. The technical commissioning / science validation phase is in progress until June 2018, before opening to the science community. In this paper, we describe the work performed on integration and test of the opto-mechanical assemblies composing the spectrograph unit, firstly in-lab, in Toulouse and then on site, at CFHT. A review of the performances obtained in-lab (in 2017) and during the first on-sky results (in 2018) is also presented.
SPIRou is a near-IR (0.98-2.35μm) echelle spectropolarimeter / high precision velocimeter installed at the beginning of the year 2018 on the 3.6m Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope (CFHT) on Mauna Kea, Hawaii, with the main goal of detecting Earth-like planets around low mass stars and magnetic fields of forming stars. In this paper, the fiber links which connects the polarimeter unit to the cryogenic spectrograph unit (35 meter apart) are described. The pupil slicer which forms a slit compatible with the spectrograph entrance specifications is also discussed in this paper. Some challenging aspects are presented. In particular this paper will focus on the manufacturing of 35 meter fibers with a very low loss attenuation (< 13dB/km) in the non-usual fiber spectral domain from 0.98 μm to 2.35 μm. Other aspects as the scrambling performance of the fiber links to reach high accuracy radial velocity measurements (<1m/s) and the performances of the pupil slicer exposed at a cryogenic and vacuum environment will be discussed.
SPIRou is the new high resolution echelle spectropolarimeter and high-precision velocimeter, in the near infra- red, for the 3.6m Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope (CFHT Mauna Kea). This next generation instrument aims at detecting and characterizing Earth-like planets in the habitable zone of low-mass dwarfs and at investigating how magnetic fields impact star and planet formation. SPIRou consists of an achromatic polarimetric module coupled with a fluoride fiber link to a thermally-controlled cryogenic echelle spectrograph, and a Calibration Unit which can fed the light of hollow-cathod lamps, a radial velocity reference (Fabry-Pérot), or a cold source to the polarimeter and/or the spectrograph. Here we present a summary of the full performances obtained in laboratory tests carried in Toulouse (France), and the first results of the on-going commissioning at the CFHT. SPIRou covers a spectral range from 0.96 to 2.48 μm (YJHK domain) in one single exposure at a resolving power of 70 K, providing unpolarized and polarized spectra (with sensitivity 10 ppm) of stars, with a 10 15% peak throughput. Lab tests demonstrate that SPIRou is capable of achieving a relative radial velocity precision better than 0.2 m/s rms on timescales of 24 hr. Science operations of SPIRou are expected to start in 2018 S2, enabling significant synergies with major space and ground instruments such as the JWST, TESS, ALMA and later-on PLATO and the ELT.
SPIRou (SpectroPolarimètre Infra-Rouge in French), is a near-infrared, fiber-fed spectropolarimeter at the CanadaFrance-Hawaii Telescope (CFHT) which gives full spectral coverage from 0.98 to 2.35 μm with a resolving power of 70,000. The main science drivers for SPIRou are (i) detecting and characterizing exoplanets around nearby M dwarfs through high-precision (1 m/s) velocimetry, and (ii) investigating the impact of magnetic fields on star/planet formation through spectropolarimetry. One of the requirements for achieving this challenging radial velocity (RV) precision is ensuring that the observed star does not move with respect to the instrument entrance aperture by more than 0.05 arcseconds RMS over the course of the observation. This is complicated by the fact that the guiding uses light from the science target so that only about 13% of the light (10% from the wings and 3% from the core) is available in seeing conditions of 0.65 arc-seconds in H band. To achieve this level of guiding accuracy, a fast guiding system has been implemented in the injection module of the instrument. This paper describes the system, its performance in tests on the sky with the CFHT since the delivery of SPIRou in January 2018, and gives comparisons to laboratory measurements and simulations.
SPIRou is a near-IR echelle spectropolarimeter and high-precision velocimeter under construction as a next-
generation instrument for the Canada-France-Hawaii-Telescope. It is designed to cover a very wide simultaneous
near-IR spectral range (0.98-2.35 μm) at a resolving power of 73.5K, providing unpolarized and polarized
spectra of low-mass stars at a radial velocity (RV) precision of 1m/s. The main science goals of SPIRou are
the detection of habitable super-Earths around low-mass stars and the study of stellar magnetism of star at
the early stages of their formation. Following a successful final design review in Spring 2014, SPIRou is now
under construction and is scheduled to see first light in late 2017. We present an overview of key aspects of
SPIRou’s optical and mechanical design.
KEYWORDS: Stars, Calibration, Control systems, Telescopes, Spectrographs, Sensors, Control systems design, Temperature metrology, Optical benches, Lamps
SPIRou is a near-IR (0.98-2.35μm), echelle spectropolarimeter / high precision velocimeter being designed as a nextgeneration
instrument for the 3.6m Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope on Mauna Kea, Hawaii, with the main goals of
detecting Earth-like planets around low-mass stars and magnetic fields of forming stars. The unique scientific and
technical capabilities of SPIRou are described in a series of eight companion papers. In this paper, the means of
controlling the instrument are discussed. Most of the instrument control is fairly normal, using off-the-shelf components
where possible and reusing already available code for these components. Some aspects, however, are more challenging.
In particular, the paper will focus on the challenges of doing fast (50 Hz) guiding with 30 mas repeatability using the
object being observed as a reference and on thermally stabilizing a large optical bench to a very high precision (~1 mK).μ
This poster paper presents the analysis, the design, and a first prototype of the Optimized Slits Positioner Software, a part of the EMIR Observing Program Manager System (EOPMS). EMIR is a multi-slit near-IR spectrograph presently under development for the Gran Telescopio de Canarias (GTC). This tool represents a crucial step for the success and efficiency of multi-object spectroscopy. Complex algorithms have been implemented to help the observer in designing and validating the mask sets, both automatically and interactively, through a user-friendly interface.
We describe briefly the Data-Reduction of the VLT fiber-fed multi-object GIRAFFE spectrograph - part of the VLT FLAMES facility. We focus on specific features of GIRAFFE - the simultaneous wavelength calibration - and their impact on the data-reduction strategy. We describe the implementation of the global physical model and we compare the results obtained with the simulated, laboratory and preliminary data. We discuss the influence of critical parameters, the overall accuracy of the wavelength solution, and the stability and the robustness of the global model approach. We address the accuracy of radial velocity measurements illustrated by solar spectra obtained during the Preliminary Acceptance in Europe.
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