HARMONI is the first light, adaptive optics assisted, integral field spectrograph for the European Southern Observatory’s Extremely Large Telescope (ELT). A work-horse instrument, it provides the ELT’s diffraction limited spectroscopic capability across the near-infrared wavelength range. HARMONI will exploit the ELT’s unique combination of exquisite spatial resolution and enormous collecting area, enabling transformational science. The design of the instrument is being finalized, and the plans for assembly, integration and testing are being detailed. We present an overview of the instrument’s capabilities from a user perspective, and provide a summary of the instrument’s design. We also include recent changes to the project, both technical and programmatic, that have resulted from red-flag actions. Finally, we outline some of the simulated HARMONI observations currently being analyzed.
HARMONI is the adaptive optics assisted, near-infrared and visible light integral field spectrograph for the Extremely Large Telescope (ELT). A first light instrument, it provides the work-horse spectroscopic capability for the ELT. As the project approaches its Final Design Review milestone, the design of the instrument is being finalized, and the plans for assembly, integration and testing are being detailed. We present an overview of the instrument’s capabilities from a user perspective, provide a summary of the instrument’s design, including plans for operations and calibrations, and provide a brief glimpse of the predicted performance for a specific observing scenario. The paper also provides some details of the consortium composition and its evolution since the project commenced in 2015.
ELT-HIRES is the high resolution and ultra-stable Echelle spectrograph for the ELT. It has been conceived as a modular instrument provided with two independent spectrometers (the baseline design) and a possible extension to four, each of them optimized to cover a fixed spectral range. The role of the fibers is essential to provide the required ultrastability. Placed at the Nasmyth focus of the ELT, the HIRES fiber link transfers the light from the focal plane to the spectrographs. Each observing modes will be use a unique and independent group of fibers (bundle). The HIRES modular design makes it possible to have new observing modes just with the addition, removal or change of the specific bundles. From a functional point of view the HIRES fiber link subsystem performs some other important tasks, such as dicing the field of view, improving the system stability and providing a uniformly illuminated slit for spectrographs. It is a key subsystem for the instrument and represents a significant technological challenge. The technical requirements, conceptual design and technologies to be used are discussed in this paper. The current status of the subsystem, and future plans are also addressed.
We present the results from the phase A study of ELT-HIRES, an optical-infrared High Resolution Spectrograph for ELT, which has just been completed by a consortium of 30 institutes from 12 countries forming a team of about 200 scientists and engineers. The top science cases of ELT-HIRES will be the detection of life signatures from exoplanet atmospheres, tests on the stability of Nature’s fundamental couplings, the direct detection of the cosmic acceleration. However, the science requirements of these science cases enable many other groundbreaking science cases. The baseline design, which allows to fulfil the top science cases, consists in a modular fiber- fed cross-dispersed echelle spectrograph with two ultra-stable spectral arms providing a simultaneous spectral range of 0.4-1.8 μm at a spectral resolution of ~100,000. The fiber-feeding allows ELT-HIRES to have several, interchangeable observing modes including a SCAO module and a small diffraction-limited IFU.
ESPRESSO is the next generation European exoplanet hunter, combining the efficiency of a modern echelle
spectrograph with extreme radial velocity and spectroscopic precision. The instrumental radial velocity precision will be
improved to reach 10 cm/s level, to achieve a gain of two magnitudes with respect to its predecessor HARPS.
The fiber-fed, non-rotating instrument will be installed in the Combined Coudé Laboratory of the VLT (Very Large
Telescope), which is situated in the Paranal Observatory (Chile).
The main challenge in the design of the optical mounts of the instrument has been the extreme long-term stability of big
rectangular optical components in a seismic environment.
This paper describes the requirements and the adopted solution for the opto-mechanical design of the collimator mirrors,
dichroic lens, field lens and cross dispersers of the instrument.
ESPRESSO is the next generation ground based European exoplanets hunter. It will combine the efficiency of modern
echelle spectrograph with extreme radial-velocity and spectroscopic precision. It will be installed at Paranal's VLT in
order to achieve two magnitudes gain with respect to its predecessor HARPS, and the instrumental radial-velocity
precision will be improved to reach 10 cm/s level. We have constituted a Consortium of astronomical research institutes
to fund, design and build ESPRESSO on behalf of and in collaboration with ESO, the European Southern Observatory.
The spectrograph will be installed at the Combined Coudé Laboratory (CCL) of the VLT, it will be linked to the four 8.2
meters Unit Telescopes through four optical "Coudé trains" and will be operated either with a single telescope or with up
to four UTs, enabling an additional 1.5 magnitude gain. Thanks to its characteristics and ability of combining
incoherently the light of 4 large telescopes, ESPRESSO will offer new possibilities in many fields of astronomy. Our
main scientific objectives are, however, the search and characterization of rocky exoplanets in the habitable zone of
quiet, near-by G to M-dwarfs, and the analysis of the variability of fundamental physical constants. The project is, for
most of its workpackages, in the procurement or development phases, and the CCL infrastructure is presently under
adaptation work. In this paper, we present the scientific objectives, the capabilities of ESPRESSO, the technical solutions
for the system and its subsystems. The project aspects of this facility are also described, from the consortium and
partnership structure to the planning phases and milestones.
ESPRESSO is the next European exoplanets hunter. It will combine the efficiency of modern echelle spectrograph with extreme radial-velocity precision. It will be installed at Paranal's VLT in order to achieve two magnitudes gain with respect to its predecessor HARPS, and the instrumental radial-velocity precision will be improved to reach 10 cm/s level. We have constituted a Consortium of astronomical research institutes to fund, design and build ESPRESSO on behalf of and in collaboration with ESO, the European Southern Observatory. The project has passed the final design review in May 2013. The spectrograph will be installed at the Combined Coudé Laboratory of the VLT, it will be linked to the four 8.2 meters Unit Telescopes through four optical "Coudé trains" and will be operated either with a single telescope or with up to four UTs, enabling an additional 1.5 magnitude gain. Thanks to its characteristics and ability of combining incoherently the light of 4 large telescopes, ESPRESSO will offer new possibilities in many fields of astronomy. Our main scientific objectives are, however, the search and characterization of rocky exoplanets in the habitable zone of quiet, near-by G to M-dwarfs, and the analysis of the variability of fundamental physical constants. In this paper, we will present the scientific objectives, the capabilities of ESPRESSO, the technical solutions for the system and its subsystems, enlightening the main differences between ESPRESSO and its predecessors. The project aspects of this facility are also described, from the consortium and partnership structure to the planning phases and milestones.
HARMONI is a visible and near-IR integral field spectrograph, providing the E-ELT's spectroscopic capability at first
light. It obtains simultaneous spectra of 32000 spaxels, at a range of resolving powers from R~4000 to R~20000,
covering the wavelength range from 0.47 to 2.45 μm. The 256 × 128 spaxel field of view has four different plate scales,
with the coarsest scale (40 mas) providing a 5″ × 10″ FoV, while the finest scale is a factor of 10 finer (4mas).
We describe the opto-mechanical design of HARMONI, prior to the start of preliminary design, including the main subsystems
- namely the image de-rotator, the scale-changing optics, the splitting and slicing optics, and the spectrographs.
We also present the secondary guiding system, the pupil imaging optics, the field and pupil stops, the natural guide star
wavefront sensor, and the calibration unit.
OSIRIS (Optical System for Imaging and low Resolution Integrated Spectroscopy) was the optical Day One instrument
for the 10.4m Spanish telescope GTC. It is installed at the Observatorio del Roque de Los Muchachos (La Palma, Spain).
This instrument has been operational since March-2009 and covers from 360 to 1000 nm. OSIRIS observing modes
include direct imaging with tunable and conventional filters, long slit and low resolution spectroscopy. OSIRIS wide
field of view and high efficiency provide a powerful tool for the scientific exploitation of GTC. OSIRIS was developed
by a Consortium formed by the Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias (IAC) and the Instituto de Astronomía de la
Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (IA-UNAM). The latter was in charge of the optical design, the manufacture
of the camera and collaboration in the assembly, integration and verification process. The IAC was responsible for the
remaining design of the instrument and it was the project leader. The present paper considers the development of the
instrument from its design to its present situation in which is in used by the scientific community.
ESPRESSO, the VLT rocky exoplanets hunter, will combine the efficiency of modern echelle spectrograph with extreme
radial-velocity precision. It will be installed at Paranal on ESO's VLT in order to achieve a gain of two magnitudes with
respect to its predecessor HARPS, and the instrumental radial-velocity precision will be improved to reach 10 cm/s level.
We have constituted a Consortium of astronomical research institutes to fund, design and build ESPRESSO on behalf of
and in collaboration with ESO, the European Southern Observatory. The project has passed the preliminary design
review in November 2011. The spectrograph will be installed at the so-called "Combined Coudé Laboratory" of the
VLT, it will be linked to the four 8.2 meters Unit Telescopes (UT) through four optical "Coudé trains" and will be
operated either with a single telescope or with up to four UTs. In exchange of the major financial and human effort the
building Consortium will be awarded with guaranteed observing time (GTO), which will be invested in a common
scientific program. Thanks to its characteristics and the ability of combining incoherently the light of 4 large telescopes,
ESPRESSO will offer new possibilities in many fields of astronomy. Our main scientific objectives are, however, the search and characterization of rocky exoplanets in the habitable zone of quiet, near-by G to M-dwarfs, and the analysis
of the variability of fundamental physical constants. In this paper, we present the ambitious scientific objectives, the
capabilities of ESPRESSO, the technical solutions for the system and its subsystems, enlightening the main differences
between ESPRESSO and its predecessors. The project aspects of this facility are also described, from the consortium and
partnership structure to the planning phases and milestones.
New dispersive elements providing relative high resolution (R=2200) have been recently incorporated in the near
infrared spectrograph LIRIS. These elements are founded on a rather novel design based on a diffractive pattern
engraved in fused silica, which is placed between two prisms. These new components are pushing forward the scientific
capabilities of the instrument by enhancing the medium resolution spectroscopic mode of operation. Details on the
design, specifications and measured performances, as well as aspects related to the integration and astronomical tests in
the instrument are presented.
EMIR, currently entering into its fabrication and AIV phase, will be one of the first common user instruments for the GTC, the 10 meter telescope under construction by GRANTECAN at the Roque de los Muchachos Observatory (Canary Islands, Spain). EMIR is being built by a Consortium of Spanish and French institutes led by the Instituto de Astrofisica de Canarias (IAC). EMIR is designed to realize one of the central goals of 10m class telescopes, allowing observers to obtain spectra for large numbers of faint sources in an time-efficient manner. EMIR is primarily designed to be operated as a MOS in the K band, but offers a wide range of observing modes, including imaging and spectroscopy, both long slit and multiobject, in the wavelength range 0.9 to 2.5 μm. It is equipped with two innovative subsystems: a robotic reconfigurable multislit mask and disperssive elements formed by the combination of high quality diffraction grating and conventional prisms, both at the heart of the instrument. The present status of development, expected performances, schedule and plans for scientific exploitation are described and discussed. The development and fabrication of EMIR is funded by GRANTECAN and the Plan Nacional de Astronomia y Astrofisica (National Plan for Astronomy and Astrophysics, Spain).
EMIR is a NIR multiobject spectrograph with imaging capabilities to be used at the GTC. The first collimator lens in EMIR, made of Fused Silica, has an outer diameter of 490 mm, and a weight of 265 N, which make it one of the largest Fused Silica lenses ever mounted to work under cryogenic conditions. The results of the various tests being done at the IAC (with two different lens dummies) in order to validate a mounting design concept for this lens, are presented here. The radial support concept tested consists of three contact areas around the lens, one of which is a PTFE block, preloaded by coil springs and the other two are fixed supports made of Aluminum and PTFE, dimensioned in order to keep lens centered both at room temperature and under operation conditions.
We present the final global design and performances of EMIR, the NIR multi-object spectrograph of the GTC, as well as the plan for its early scientific exploitation. EMIR, currently in the middle of its final phase, will be one of the first common user instruments for the GTC, the 10 meter telescope under construction by GRANTECAN at the Roque de los Muchachos Observatory (Canary Islands, Spain). EMIR is being built by a Consortium of Spanish and French institutes led by the IAC. EMIR is designed to realize one of the central goals of 10m class telescopes, allowing observers to obtain spectra for large numbers of faint sources in an time-efficient manner. EMIR is primarily designed to be operated as a MOS in the K band, but offers a wide range of observing modes, which include imaging and spectroscopy, both long slit and multi-object, in the wavelength range 0.9 to 2.5 mm. It is equipped with two innovative subsystems: a robotic reconfigurable multi-slit mask and dispersive elements formed by the combination of high quality diffraction grating and conventional prisms, both at the heart of the instrument. The present status of development, expected performances, schedule and plans for scientific exploitation are described and discussed. This project is mostly funded by GRANTECAN and the Plan Nacional de Astronomia y Astrofisica (National Plan for Astronomy and Astrophysics, Spain).
EMIR is a multiobject intermediate resolution near infrared (1.0 - 2.5 microns) spectrograph with imaging capabilities, to be mounted on the Gran Telescopio Canarias. After the successful results of the preliminary design review, EMIR optical system is being fixed. Detailed status of the solutions adopted for the optical system as well as the developments made and their results are presented. Management and technical issues related to the procurement of the different optical components are shown.
OSIRIS (Optical System for Imaging and low Resolution Integrated Spectroscopy) is the optical Day One instrument for the 10.4m Spanish telescope GTC to be installed in the Observatorio del Roque de Los Muchachos (La Palma, Spain). This instrument, operational in mid-2004, covers from 360 up to 1000 nm. OSIRIS observing modes include direct imaging with tunable and conventional filters, long slit and multiple object spectroscopy and fast spectrophotometry. The OSIRIS wide field of view, high efficiency and the new observing modes (tunable imaging and fast spectrophotometry) for 8-10m class telescopes will provide GTC with a powerful tool for their scientific exploitation. The present paper provides an updated overview of the instrument development, of some of the scientific projects that will be tackled with OSIRIS and of the general requirements driving the optical and mechanical design.
EMIR is a intermediate resolution near infrared (1.0 - 2.5 microns) multiobject spectrograph with image capabilities, to be mounted on the Gran Telescopio Canarias (GTC). EMIR is being built by a consortium of Spanish, French and British institutions, led by the Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias. EMIR is being funded by GRANTECAN and the Plan Nacional de Astronomía y Astrofísica (National Plan for Astronomy and Astrophysics, Spain) as one of the first common user instruments for the GTC.
The instrument shall deliver images and spectra from a large FOV (6x6 arcmin in imaging mode, and 6x4 arcmin in multislit spectroscopic mode). Due to the telescope image scale (1 arcmin = 52 mm) and the spectral resolution required (around 4000), one of the major challenges of the instrument is the optical design and the manufacture.
The detailed optical design and its expected performance will be presented. In particular the main risk areas will be identified and our risk control strategy will be outlined.
In this contribution we review the overall features of EMIR, the NIR multiobject spectrograph of the GTC. EMIR is at present in the middle of the PD phase and will be one of the first common user instruments for the GTC, the 10 meter telescope under construction by GRANTECAN at the Roque de los Muchachos Observatory (Canary Islands, Spain). EMIR is being built by a Consortium of Spanish, French and British institutes led by the IAC. EMIR is designed to realize one of the central goals of 10m class telescopes, allowing observers to obtain spectra for large numbers of faint sources in an time-efficient manner. EMIR is primarily designed to be operated as a MOS in the K band, but offers a wide range of observing modes, including imaging and spectroscopy, both long slit and multiobject, in the wavelength range 0.9 to 2.5 μm. The present status of development, expected performances and schedule are described and discussed. This project is funded by GRANTECAN and the Plan Nacional de Astronomía y Astrofísica (National Plan for Astronomy and Astrophysics, Spain).
The Optical System for Imaging and low Resolution Integrated Spectroscopy (OSIRIS) is an imaging system and a low-resolution long-slit and multi-object spectrograph for the 10.4m Spaninsh telescope GTC. OSIRIS spectral range (from 365 up to 1000 nm) and observing modes require a wide set of elements in order to provide imaging and spectroscopic capatibilities.
Two tunable filters covering the full OSIRIS spectral range allow narrow band imaging with resolutions from R=300 to 1000. Twelve grisms provide spectral resolutions from R=250 through R=2500. In this contribution the design and characteristics of the tunable filters and grisms selected for OSIRIS are presented.
EMIR is a multiobject intermediate resolution (R ≈ 4000) near infrared spectrograph with image capabilities to be mounted on the Gran Telescopio Canarias (GTC). EMIR shall provide image and spectra of a wide FOV (6x6 arcmin in imaging mode and 6x4 arcmin in multiobject spectroscopic mode), and will use grisms as dispersive elements.
The use of grisms has great advantages in the design and manufacture of infrared spectrographs but there are not many suitable materials for the EMIR requirements. The grisms material must have good transmission in the working spectral range (1.0 - 2.5 μm) and given the required resolution, a high refractive index is necessary. Also the required homogeneity of the grism material makes it difficult to find a good candidate due to the large size of the EMIR grisms. Furthermore the technical difficulties related to the grooving process on large surfaces is an important issue to be addressed.
Taking into account all those constraints and the EMIR requirements, several sets of materials, rulings and dimensions have been identified. These alternative solutions for EMIR grisms are proposed and analysed in terms of their physical characteristics, expected resolution, spectral coverage on detector and diffraction efficiency. Current status of the procurement of the devices will be given.
EMIR is a multiobject intermediate resolution near infrared (1.0 - 2.5 microns) spectrograph with image capabilities to be mounted on the Gran Telescopio Canarias (Observatorio del Roque de los Muchachos, La Palma, Spain). EMIR is under design by a consortium of Spanish, French and British institutions, led by the Instituto de Astrofisica de Canarias. This work has been partially funded by the GTC Project Office. The instrument will deliver images and spectra in a large FOV (6 X 6 arcmin), and because of the telescope image scale (1 arcmin equals 52 mm) and the spectral resolution required, around 4000, one of the major challenges of the instrument is the optics and optomechanics. Different approaches have been studied since the initial proposal, trying to control the risks of the instrument, while fitting the initial scientific requirements. Issues on optical concepts, material availability, temperature as well as optomechanical mounting of the instrument will be presented.
LIRIS is a near-IR intermediate resolution spectrograph with added capabilities for multi-object, imaging, coronography, and polarimetry. This instrument is now being constructed at the IAC, and upon complexion will be installed on the 4.2m William Herschel Telescope at the Observatorio del Roque de Los Muchachos. The optical system uses lenses and is based on a classical collimator/camera design. Grisms are used as the dispersion elements. The plate scale matches the median seeing at the ORM. The detector is a Hawaii 1024 X 1024 HgCdTe array operating at 60K.
EMIR is a near-IR, multi-slit camera-spectrograph under development for the 10m GTC on La Palma. It will deliver up to 45 independent R equals 3500-4000 spectra of sources over a field of view of 6 feet by 3 feet, and allow NIR imaging over a 6 foot by 6 foot FOV, with spatial sampling of 0.175 inch/pixel. The prime science goal of the instrument is to open K-band, wide field multi-object spectroscopy on 10m class telescopes. Science applications range from the study of star-forming galaxies beyond z equals 2, to observations of substellar objects and dust-enshrouded star formation regions. Main technological challenges include the large optics, the mechanical and thermal stability and the need to implement a mask exchange mechanism that does not require warming up the spectrograph. EMIR is begin developed by the Instituto de Astrofisica de Canarias, the Instituto Nacional de Tecnica Aeroespacial, the Universidad Complutense de Madrid, the Observatoire Midi-Pyrennees, and the University of Durham. Currently in its Preliminary Design phase, EMIR is expected to start science operation in 2004.
The Instituto de Astrofisica de Canarias (IAC) is undertaking the design and construction of a common-user near IR spectrograph (LIRIS) for the Cassegrain focus of the 4.2 m William Herschel Telescope sited at the Observatorio del Roque de Los Muchachos. LIRIS will be a near IR intermediate-resolution spectrograph designed to operate over a spectral resolution range between 1000 and 5000, with added capabilities for coronographic, multiproject and polarimetric observations. The instrument allows the combination of an adequate spatial resolution with a large useful field of view across the slit, thanks to the use of the new 1024 X 1024 pixel HgCdTe Hawaii detector manufactured by Rockwell. All the optics and mechanisms situated inside the cryostat will be cooled to below 100 K. The detector will operate at 77 K. Calibration and tracking will be made with the existing Cassegrain A and G Box, into which a near IR calibration system will be incorporated.
Access to the requested content is limited to institutions that have purchased or subscribe to SPIE eBooks.
You are receiving this notice because your organization may not have SPIE eBooks access.*
*Shibboleth/Open Athens users─please
sign in
to access your institution's subscriptions.
To obtain this item, you may purchase the complete book in print or electronic format on
SPIE.org.
INSTITUTIONAL Select your institution to access the SPIE Digital Library.
PERSONAL Sign in with your SPIE account to access your personal subscriptions or to use specific features such as save to my library, sign up for alerts, save searches, etc.