| 1. |
- Dorn, R. J., et al.
(författare)
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CRIRES+ on sky at the ESO Very Large Telescope : Observing the Universe at infrared wavelengths and high spectral resolution
- 2023
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Ingår i: Astronomy and Astrophysics. - : EDP Sciences. - 0004-6361 .- 1432-0746. ; 671
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The CRyogenic InfraRed Echelle Spectrograph (CRIRES) Upgrade project CRIRES+ extended the capabilities of CRIRES. It transformed this VLT instrument into a cross-dispersed spectrograph to increase the wavelength range that is covered simultaneously by up to a factor of ten. In addition, a new detector focal plane array of three Hawaii 2RG detectors with a 5.3 mu m cutoff wavelength replaced the existing detectors. Amongst many other improvements, a new spectropolarimetric unit was added and the calibration system has been enhanced. The instrument was installed at the VLT on Unit Telescope 3 at the beginning of 2020 and successfully commissioned and verified for science operations during 2021, partly remotely from Europe due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The instrument was subsequently offered to the community from October 2021 onwards. This article describes the performance and capabilities of the upgraded instrument and presents on sky results.
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| 2. |
- Follert, R., et al.
(författare)
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CRIRES plus : a cross-dispersed high-resolution infrared spectrograph for the ESO VLT
- 2014
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Ingår i: GROUND-BASED AND AIRBORNE INSTRUMENTATION FOR ASTRONOMY V. - : SPIE. - 9780819496157
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Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- High-resolution infrared spectroscopy plays an important role in astrophysics from the search for exoplanets to cosmology. Yet, many existing infrared spectrographs are limited by a rather small simultaneous wavelength coverage. The AO assisted CRIRES instrument, installed at the ESO VLT on Paranal, is one of the few IR (0.92-5.2 mu m) high-resolution spectrographs in operation since 2006. However it has a limitation that hampers its efficient use: the wavelength range covered in a single exposure is limited to similar to 15 nanometers. The CRIRES Upgrade project (CRIRES+) will transform CRIRES into a cross-dispersed spectrograph and will also add new capabilities. By introducing cross-dispersion elements the simultaneously covered wavelength range will be increased by at least a factor of 10 with respect to the present configuration, while the operational wavelength range will be preserved. For advanced wavelength calibration, new custom made absorption gas cells and etalons will be added. A spectro-polarimetric unit will allow one for the first time to record circularly polarized spectra at the highest spectral resolution. This will be all supported by a new data reduction software which will allow the community to take full advantage of the new capabilities of CRIRES+.
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| 3. |
- Oliva, E., et al.
(författare)
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Concept and optical design of the cross-disperser module for CRIRES
- 2014
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Ingår i: GROUND-BASED AND AIRBORNE INSTRUMENTATION FOR ASTRONOMY V. - : SPIE. - 9780819496157
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Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- CRIRES, the ESO high resolution infrared spectrometer, is a unique instrument which allows astronomers to access a parameter space which up to now was largely uncharted. In its current setup, it consists of a single-order spectrograph providing long-slit, single-order spectroscopy with resolving power up to R=100,000 over a quite narrow spectral range. This has resulted in sub-optimal efficiency and use of telescope time for all the scientific programs requiring broad spectral coverage of compact objects (e.g. chemical abundances of stars and intergalactic medium, search and characterization of extra-solar planets). To overcome these limitations, a consortium was set-up for upgrading CRIRES to a cross-dispersed spectrometer, called CRIRES+. This paper presents the updated optical design of the cross-dispersion module for CRIRES+. This new module can be mounted in place of the current pre-disperser unit. The new system yields a factor of >10 increase in simultaneous spectral coverage and maintains a quite long slit (10"), ideal for observations of extended sources and for precise sky-background subtraction.
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| 4. |
- Seemann, U., et al.
(författare)
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Wavelength calibration from 1-5 mu m for the CRIRES plus high-resolution spectrograph at the VLT
- 2014
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Ingår i: GROUND-BASED AND AIRBORNE INSTRUMENTATION FOR ASTRONOMY V. - : SPIE. - 9780819496157
-
Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- CRIRES at the VLT is one of the few adaptive optics enabled instruments that offer a resolving power of 10 5 from 1 - 5 mu m. An instrument upgrade (CRIRES+) is proposed to implement cross-dispersion capabilities, spectro-polarimetry modes, a new detector mosaic, and a new gas absorption cell. CRIRES+ will boost the simultaneous wavelength coverage of the current instrument (similar to lambda/70 in a single-order) by a factor of greater than or similar to 10 in the cross-dispersed configuration, while still retaining a 10 arcsec slit suitable for long-slit spectroscopy. CRIRES+ dramatically enhances the instrument's observing efficiency, and opens new scientific opportunities. These include high-precision radial-velocity studies on the 3m/s level to characterize extra-solar planets and their athmospheres, which demand for specialized, highly accurate wavelength calibration techniques. In this paper, we present a newly developed absorption gas-cell to enable high-precision wavelength calibration for CRIRES+. We also discuss the strategies and developments to cover the full operational spectral range (1-5 mu m), employing hollow-cathode emission lamps, Fabry-Perot etalons, and absorption gas-cells.
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