ERIS: preliminary design phase overview
2014
The Enhanced Resolution Imager and Spectrograph (
ERIS) is the next-generation
adaptive opticsnear-IR imager and spectrograph for the Cassegrain focus of the
Very Large Telescope(VLT) Unit Telescope 4, which will soon make full use of the
Adaptive OpticsFacility (AOF). It is a high-Strehl AO-assisted instrument that will use the Deformable
Secondary Mirror(DSM) and the new
Laser Guide StarFacility (4LGSF). The project has been approved for construction and has entered its preliminary design phase.
ERISwill be constructed in a collaboration including the MaxPlanck Institut fur Extraterrestrische Physik, the Eidgenossische Technische Hochschule Zurich and the Osservatorio Astrofisico di Arcetri and will offer 1 – 5 μm imaging and 1 – 2.5 μm integral field spectroscopic capabilities with a high Strehl performance. Wavefront sensing can be carried out with an optical high-order NGS Pyramid
wavefront sensor, or with a single laser in either an optical low-order NGS mode, or with a near-IR low-order mode sensor. Due to its highly sensitive visible
wavefront sensor, and separate near-IR low-order mode,
ERISprovides a large sky coverage with its 1’ patrol field radius that can even include AO stars embedded in dust-enshrouded environments. As such it will replace, with a much improved single conjugated AO correction, the most scientifically important imaging modes offered by NACO (diffraction limited imaging in the J to M bands, Sparse Aperture Masking and
ApodizingPhase Plate (APP) coronagraphy) and the integral field spectroscopy modes of SINFONI, whose instrumental module, SPIFFI, will be upgraded and re-used in
ERIS. As part of the SPIFFI upgrade a new higher resolution grating and a science detector replacement are envisaged, as well as PLC driven motors. To accommodate
ERISat the Cassegrain focus, an extension of the telescope back focal length is required, with modifications of the guider arm assembly. In this paper we report on the status of the baseline design. We will also report on the main science goals of the instrument, ranging from
exoplanetdetection and characterization to high redshift galaxy observations. We will also briefly describe the SINFONI-SPIFFI upgrade strategy, which is part of the
ERISdevelopment plan and the overall project timeline.
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