The Large Binocular Telescope, with its expansive collecting area, angular resolving power, and advanced optical design, provides a robust platform for development and operation of advanced instrumentation for astronomical research. The LBT currently hosts a mature suite of instruments for spectroscopy and imaging at optical through mid-infrared wavelengths, supported by sophisticated adaptive optics systems. This contribution summarizes the current state of instrumentation, including upgrades to existing instruments and commissioning of second generation instruments now in progress. The LBT is soliciting proposals for next generation instrument concepts, with participation open to consortium members and others interested in participation in the Observatory.
The first generation of ELT instruments include an optical-infrared High Resolution Spectrograph, formerly indicated as ELT-HIRES and recently christened ANDES (ArmazoNes high Dispersion Echelle Spectrograph). Its modular design allows to position the calibration unit and the red & infrared spectrograph modules in the Coude room of the ELT for better thermal and mechanical stability. But to accommodate for a better UV throughput, the blue spectrograph module (UBV) will be positioned on the Nasmyth-platform of the telescope along with the front end of the system. We present the preliminary optical design of this UBV module, which extends the 400 nm blue cutoff of the baseline design to 350 nm by adding a third (the U-) arm. In addition to classical image quality calculations, we produce echelle-footprints which can be analyzed like regular observations.
The current STELLA Échelle spectrograph (SES), which records 390nm to 870nm in one shot at a spectral resolution of 55000, will be replaced by a suite of specialized spectrographs in three spectral bands. The UV will be covered by a newly designed H and K spectrograph covering 380nm to 470nm (SES-H and K), the visual band (470nm - 690 nm) will be covered by SES-VIS, which is a vacuum-stabilized spectrograph designed for high radial-velocity accuracy, and the NIR will be covered by the current SES spectrograph from 690nm to 1050 nm. In order to improve the UV transmission, and to accommodate three different fibre-feeds, the prime focus corrector of the telescope will be refurbished, leading to an optical system with the f/2 1200mm spherical primary, a 4-lens collimator with 2" aperture, atmospheric dispersion corrector (ADC), and two dichroic beam splitters, feeding 3 separate fibre feeds for the three bands. The newly designed H and K spectrograph will be an Échelle spectrograph, based on a R4-grating with 41.6 l/mm and 110mmx420mm, using a f/5 camera and the cross-disperser in double pass (as in TRAFICOS, MIKE, KPF), using 21 spectral orders. The spectral resolution of all three spectrographs will be comparable to the current SES's 55000.
The new visual STELLA echelle spectrograph (SES-VIS) is a new instrument for the STELLA-II telescope at the Iza~na observatory on Tenerife. Together with the original SES spectrograph - which will still be used in the near IR - and a new H&K-optimized spectrograph, which is currently in the design phase, it will change the focus of the spectroscopic observations at STELLA towards the follow up of planetary candidates detected by upcoming surveys focusing on bright targets (TESS, PLATO2). It is optimized for precise radial velocity determination and long term stability. We have developed a ZEMAX based software package to create simulated spectra, which are then extracted using our new reduction package, which is based on the PEPSI software package. The focus has been put on calibration spectra, and the full range of available calibration sources (at field, Th-Ar, and Fabry-Perot), which can be compared to actual commissioning data once they are available. Furthermore we tested for the effect of changes of the environmental parameters to the wavelength calibration precision.
The Phase A study for the high-resolution spectrograph for the Extremely Large Telescope (ELT-HIRES) has been concluded in late 2017. We present the main outcome for a polarimetric light feed from the intermediate focus (IF) and a Nasmyth focus of the telescope. We conclude that the use of the IF is mandatory for high-precision spectropolarimetry. Among the description of the product tree, we present phase-A level opto-mechanical designs of the subunits, describe the observational and calibration modes, the PSF error budget, and the preliminary FEM structural and earthquake analysis.
An update on the development of a ray tracing polarimetric simulator to estimate the instrumental polarization including both the telescope mirrors and the optical elements of the polarimeter is reported. Trade-off strategies and ongoing solutions in view of the Phase B are outlined too.
The Gregor At Night Spectrograph (GANS) is a new instrument currently being built for the GREGOR solar telescope at Iza~na observatory on Tenerife. Its primary science case will be the follow up of planetary candidates detected by upcoming surveys focussing on bright targets (TESS, PLATO2). Therefore it will be optimised for precise radial velocity determination and long term stability. We have developed a ZEMAX based software package to create simulated spectra, which are reduced using standard IRAF tasks. We used a solar model spectrum to determine the influence of S/N ratio, wavelength coverage, pixel sampling and telluric lines on the extracted radial velocities. Furthermore we derived the effect of an asymmetric spectrograph illumination on the measured radial velocity.
PEPSI is the new fiber-fed and stabilized “Potsdam Echelle Polarimetric and Spectroscopic Instrument” for the Large Binocular Telescope (LBT). It covers the entire optical wavelength range from 384 to 913 nm in three exposures at resolutions of either R=λ/▵λ=50,000, 130,000 or 250,000. The R=130,000 mode can also be used with two dual-beam Stokes IQUV polarimeters. The 50,000-mode with its 12-pix sampling per resolution element is our “bad seeing” or “faint-object” mode. A robotic solar-disk-integration (SDI) telescope feeds solar light to PEPSI during day time and a 450-m fiber feed from the 1.8m VATT can be used when the LBT is busy otherwise. CCD characterization and a removal procedure for the spatial fixed-pattern noise were the main tasks left from the commissioning phase. Several SDI spectral time series with up to 300 individual spectra per day recovered the well-known solar 5-minute oscillation at a peak of 3 mHz (5.5min) with a disk-integrated radial-velocity amplitude of only 47 cm/s. Spectral atlases for 50 bright benchmark stars including the Sun were recently released to the scientific community, among them the ancient planet- system host Kepler-444. These data combine PEPSI’s high spectral resolution of R=250,000 with signal-to-noise ratio (S/N) of many hundreds to even thousands covering the entire optical to near-infrared wavelength range from 384 to 913 nm. Other early science cases were exoplanet transits including TRAPPIST-1, a spectrum of Boyajian's star that revealed strong and structured but stable ISM Na D lines, a spectrum of Oph allowing a redetermination of the ISM Li line doublet, and a first Doppler image of the young solar analog EK Dra that revealed starspots with solar-like penumbrae.
Limited observing time at large telescopes equipped with the most powerful spectrographs makes it almost impossible to gain long and well-sampled time-series observations. Ditto, high-time-resolution observations of bright targets with high signal-to-noise are rare. By pulling an optical fibre of 450m length from the Vatican Advanced Technology Telescope (VATT) to the Large Binocular Telescope (LBT) to connect the Potsdam Echelle Polarimetric and Spectroscopic Instrument (PEPSI) to the VATT, allows for ultra-high resolution time-series measurements of bright targets. This article presents the fibre-link in detail from the technical point-of-view, demonstrates its performance from first observations, and sketches current applications.
We present a conceptual design for a spectropolarimetric focal station for ESO's European Extremely Large Telescope
(E-ELT). It uses the intermediate f/4.4 focus, the only symmetric focus of the telescope. A dual channel, full Stokesvector
polarimeter provides on-axis light for the wavelength range 380-1600nm to up to two spectrographs
simultaneously via two pairs of fibers. With such spectropolarimetric capability and a proper spectrograph for the optical
and the near infrared wavelengths, the E-ELT would be able to provide the full parameter space of an incoming
wavefront. Because of the on-axis entrance location of the polarimeter collimator and an entrance aperture of just 1.3
arcsec, the expected poor image quality of the intermediate telescope focus is not directly relevant.
The two spectropolarimeters for PEPSI (Potsdam Echelle Polarimetric and Spectroscopic Instrument) have been de¬signed in order to reconstruct the full Stokes vector measuring linear and circular polarization simultaneously with a re¬solving power of 120,000. The polarimeters will be attached to the Gregorian focus of the so far largest LBT 2x8.4m telescope and will feed together with permanent focus stations the spectrograph via 44m long fibers connection. The spectrograph will be located in a pressure-temperature controlled chamber within the telescope pier. We present hereafter the last results from combined structural and CFD analyses in order to fulfill the optical requirements.
We present the status of PEPSI, the bench-mounted fibre-fed and stabilized "Potsdam Echelle Polarimetric and
Spectroscopic Instrument" for the 2×8.4m Large Binocular Telescope in southern Arizona. PEPSI is under construction
at AIP and is scheduled for first light in 2009/10. Its ultra-high-resolution mode will deliver an unprecedented spectral
resolution of approximately R=310,000 at high efficiency throughout the entire optical/red wavelength range 390-1050nm without the need for adaptive optics. Besides its polarimetric Stokes IQUV mode, the capability to cover the
entire optical range in three exposures at resolutions of 40,000, 130,000 and 310,000 will surpass all existing facilities in
terms of light-gathering-power times spectral-coverage product. A solar feed will make use of the spectrograph also
during day time. As such, we hope that PEPSI will be the most powerful spectrometer of its kind for the years to come.
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