The Near-InfraRed Planet Searcher or NIRPS is a precision radial velocity spectrograph developed through collaborative efforts among laboratories in Switzerland, Canada, Brazil, France, Portugal and Spain. NIRPS extends to the 0.98-1.8 μm domain of the pioneering HARPS instrument at the La Silla 3.6-m telescope in Chile and it has achieved unparalleled precision, measuring stellar radial velocities in the infrared with accuracy better than 1 m/s. NIRPS can be used either standalone, or simultaneously with HARPS. Commissioned in late 2022 and early 2023, NIRPS embarked on a 5-year Guaranteed Time Observation (GTO) program in April 2023, spanning 720 observing nights. This program focuses on planetary systems around M dwarfs, encompassing both the immediate solar vicinity and transit follow-ups, alongside transit and emission spectroscopy observations. We highlight NIRPS’s current performances and the insights gained during its deployment at the telescope. The lessons learned and successes achieved contribute to the ongoing advancement of precision radial velocity measurements and high spectral fidelity, further solidifying NIRPS’ role in the forefront of the field of exoplanets.
NIRPS is a fiber-fed AO nIR spectrograph working simultaneously with HARPS at the La Silla-ESO 3.6m telescope. The cryogenic spectrograph operating at 75K employs a cross-dispersed echelle grating (R4), covering a wavelength range of 0.98-1.80 microns in a single image using a Teledyne Hawaii-4RG infrared detector. In early 2022, the NIRPS spectrograph was transported to Chile by plane with all the optical elements mechanically attached to the optical bench inside the vaccum vessel. To ensure the safety of the spectrograph, dedicated work was performed on the shipping crate design, which could survive up to 7g shocks. In La Silla, the vacuum vessel was re-integrated on its support structure and the spectrograph alignment was verified with the H4RG and the injection module. Given the optical design, the alignment phase was performed using a metrology arm and a few optical tests, which minimize the time required for this critical phase. From the validation/technical phase results, two major modifications were required. Firstly, the original grating element was replaced by a new etched crystalline silicon component made by the Fraunhofer Institute for Applied Optics and Precision Engineering. A novel technique was developed to verify the alignment at a warm temperature with the H4RG detector. Secondly, a thermal enclosure was added around the vacuum vessel to optimize thermal stability. Since then, the long-term thermal stability has been better than 0.2mK over 20 days. In this paper, we will review the final spectrograph performances, prior to shipping, and describe the novel techniques developed to minimize shipping costs, AITV phase duration, and grating replacement at the observatory. Additionally, we will discuss the thermal enclosure design to achieve the sub-mK thermal stability.
NIRPS is a near-infrared (YJH bands), fiber-fed, high-resolution precise radial velocity (PRV) spectrograph installed at the ESO 3.6-m telescope in La Silla, Chile. Using a dichroic, NIRPS will be operated simultaneously with the optical HARPS PRV spectrograph and will be used to conduct ambitious planet-search and characterization surveys. NIRPS aims at detecting and characterizing Earth-like planets in the habitable zone of low-mass dwarfs and obtain high-accuracy transit spectroscopy of exoplanets. The spectrograph is compact for better thermal stability. Using a custom R4 grating in combination with a state-of-the-art Hawaii4RG detector, the instrument provides a high resolution and high stability over the range of 950-1800 nm. This paper focuses on the lens and optomechanical design, assembly, and test of NIRPS’s spectrograph. Some performance tests conducted at Université Laval (Canada) during the integration and at La Silla during commissioning are presented
NIRPS is an infrared precision Radial Velocity (pRV) spectrograph covering the range 950 nm-1800 nm. NIRPS uses a high-order Adaptive Optics (AO) system to couple the starlight into a fiber corresponding to 0.4" on the sky as efficiently or better than HARPS or ESPRESSO couple the light in a 1.0" fiber. This allows the spectrograph to be very compact, more thermally stable, and less costly. Using a custom tan(θ)=4 dispersion grating in combination with a start-of-the-art Hawaii4RG detector makes NIRPS very efficient with complete coverage of the YJH bands at just under 100 000 resolution. On the ESO 3.6-m telescope, NIRPS and HARPS are working simultaneously on the same target, building a single powerful high-resolution, high-fidelity spectrograph covering the 0.37-1.8 µm domain. NIRPS will complement HARPS in validating Earth-like planets found around G and K-type stars whose signal is at the same order of magnitude than the stellar noise. While the telescope-side AO system was installed on the ESO 3.6-m telescope in 2019, the infrared cryogenic spectrograph has been integrated at the telescope in early-2022 and has had first light in June 2022. Results from the first light mission show that NIRPS performs very nicely, that the AO system works up to magnitude I=14.5, that the transmission matches requirements and that the RV stability of 1 m/s is within reach While performance assessment is ongoing, NIRPS has demonstrated on-sky m/s-level stability over a night and <3 m/s level over two weeks. Limitations on the RV performances arise from modal noise that can be mitigated through better scrambling strategies. Better performances are also expected following a grating upgrade in July 2022; these will be tested in late-2022.
NIRPS (Near Infra-Red Planet Searcher) is an AO-assisted and fiber-fed spectrograph for high precision radial velocity measurements in the YJH-bands. NIRPS also has the specificity to be an SCAO assisted instrument, enabling the use of few-mode fibers for the first time. This choice offers an excellent trade-off by allowing to design a compact cryogenic spectrograph, while maintaining a high coupling efficiency under bad seeing conditions and for faint stars. The main drawback resides in a much more important modal-noise, a problem that has to be tackled for allowing 1m/s precision radial velocity measurements. In this paper, we present the NIRPS Front-End: an overview of its design (opto-mechanics, control), its performance on-sky, as well as a few lessons learned along the way.
NIRPS, the Near Infra-Red Planet Searcher, is part of a new generation of Adaptive Optics fibre-fed spectrographs. It will be installed in the ESO La Silla 3.6 m telescope and will be operated individually or jointly with HARPS. NIRPS aims at spectroscopic observations of stellar objects in the NIR, from 970 nm to 1800 nm (with the option for later extension to 2400 nm). The instrument is assisted by an AO system, whose sensing bandwidth will be from 700 nm to 950 nm. Even if telescope pointing and guiding is perfect at a given reference wavelength, atmospheric dispersion will shift the image centroid at different wavelengths, with impact on fibre injection. Moreover such effect will vary during acquisition with the observation zenith angle. Therefore an Atmospheric Dispersion Corrector (ADC) is mandatory to achieve the instrument requirements. In this paper we will present the design, integration and test results for the NIRPS ADC.
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