This paper examines the reasons for building a compiled language embedded on an instrument software. Starting from
scratch and step by step, all the compiler stages of an ANSI-C like language are analyzed, simplified and implemented.
The result is a compiler and a runner with a small footprint that can be easily transferable and embedded into an
instrument software. Both have about 75 KBytes when similar solutions have hundreds. Finally, the possibilities that
arise from embedding the runner inside an instrument software are explored.
CARMENES has been proposed as a next-generation instrument for the 3.5m Calar Alto Telescope. Its objective is
finding habitable exoplanets around M dwarfs through radial velocity measurements (m/s level) in the near-infrared.
Consequently, the NIR spectrograph is highly constraint regarding thermal/mechanical requirements. Indeed, the
requirements used for the present study limit the thermal stability to ±0.01K (within year period) over a working
temperature of 243K in order to minimise radial velocity drifts. This can be achieved by implementing a solution based
on several temperature-controlled rooms (TCR), whose smallest room encloses the vacuum vessel which houses the
spectrograph's optomechanics.
Nevertheless, several options have been taken into account to minimise the complexity of the thermal design: 1) Large
thermal inertia of the system, where, given a thermal instability of the environment (typically, ±0.1K), the optomechanical
system remains stable within ±0.01K in the long run; 2) Environment thermal control, where thermal
stability is ensured by controlling the temperature of the environment surrounding the vacuum vessel.
The present article also includes the comprehensive transient-state thermal analyses which have been implemented in
order to make the best choice, as well as to give important inputs for the thermal layout of the instrument.
OCTOCAM is a multi-channel imager and spectrograph that has been proposed for the 10.4m GTC telescope. It will use
dichroics to split the incoming light to produce simultaneous observations in 8 different bands, ranging from the
ultraviolet to the near-infrared. The imaging mode will have a field of view of 2' x 2' in u, g, r, i, z, J, H and KS bands,
whereas the long-slit spectroscopic mode will cover the complete range from 4,000 to 23,000 A with a resolution of 700
- 1,000 (depending on the arm and slit width). An additional mode, using an image slicer, will deliver a spectral
resolution of over 3,000. As a further feature, it will use state of the art detectors to reach high readout speeds of the
order of tens of milliseconds. In this way, OCTOCAM will be occupying a region of the time resolution - spectral
resolution - spectral coverage diagram that is not covered by a single instrument in any other observatory, with an
exceptional sensitivity.
CARMENES (Calar Alto high-Resolution search for M dwarfs with Exo-earths with Near-infrared and optical
Echelle Spectrographs) is a next-generation instrument to be built for the 3.5m telescope at the Calar Alto
Observatory by a consortium of Spanish and German institutions. Conducting a five-year exoplanet survey
targeting ~ 300 M stars with the completed instrument is an integral part of the project. The CARMENES
instrument consists of two separate spectrographs covering the wavelength range from 0.52 to 1.7 μm at a spectral
resolution of R = 85, 000, fed by fibers from the Cassegrain focus of the telescope. The spectrographs are housed
in a temperature-stabilized environment in vacuum tanks, to enable a 1m/s radial velocity precision employing
a simultaneous ThAr calibration.
SIDE (Super Ifu Deployable Experiment) is proposed as second-generation, common-user instrument for the GTC. It
will be a low and intermediate resolution fiber fed spectrograph, highly efficient in multi-object and 3D spectroscopy.
The low resolution part (R = 1500, 4000) is called Dual VIS-NIR because it will observe in the VIS and NIR bands (0.4
~V 1.7 microns) simultaneously. Because of the large number of fibers, a set of ~10 identical spectrographs is needed,
each with a mirror collimator, a dichroic and two refractive cameras. The cameras are optimized for 0.4 - 0.95 microns
(VIS) and 0.95 - 1.7 microns (NIR) respectively.
SIDE (Super Ifu Deployable Experiment) will be a second-generation,common-user instrument for the Grantecan (GTC)
on La Palma (Canary Islands, Spain). It is being proposed as a spectrograph of low and intermediate resolution, highly
efficient in multi-object spectroscopy and 3D spectroscopy. SIDE will feature the unique possibility of performing
simultaneous visible and IR observations for selected ranges. The SIDE project is leaded by the Instituto de Astrofsica de
Andaluca in Granada (Spain) and the SIDE Consortium is formed by a total of 10 institutions from Spain, Mexico and
USA. The feasibility study has been completed and currently the project is under revision by the GTC project office.
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