SPIRou: the near-infrared spectropolarimeter/high-precision velocimeter for the Canada-France-Hawaii telescope
astro-ph.IM
/ Authors
Étienne Artigau, Driss Kouach, Jean-François Donati, René Doyon, Xavier Delfosse, Sébastien Baratchart, Marielle Lacombe, Claire Moutou, Patrick Rabou, Laurent P. Parès
and 23 more authors
Yoan Micheau, Simon Thibault, Vladimir A. Reshetov, Bruno Dubois, Olivier Hernandez, Philippe Vallée, Shiang-Yu Wang, François Dolon, Francesco A. Pepe, François Bouchy, Nicolas Striebig, François Hénault, David Loop, Leslie Saddlemyer, Gregory Barrick, Tom Vermeulen, Michel Dupieux, Guillaume Hébrard, Isabelle Boisse, Eder Martioli, Silvia H. P. Alencar, José-Diaz do Nascimento
/ Abstract
SPIRou is a near-IR échelle spectropolarimeter and high-precision velocimeter under construction as a next-generation instrument for the Canada-France-Hawaii-Telescope. It is designed to cover a very wide simultaneous near-IR spectral range (0.98-2.35 μm) at a resolving power of 73.5K, providing unpolarized and polarized spectra of low-mass stars at a radial velocity (RV) precision of 1m/s. The main science goals of SPIRou are the detection of habitable super-Earths around low-mass stars and the study of how critically magnetic fields impact star / planet formation. Following a successful final design review in Spring 2014, SPIRou is now under construction and is scheduled to see first light in late 2017. We present an overview of key aspects of SPIRou's optical and mechanical design.