2025A&A...700A..10B

Query : 2025A&A...700A..10B

2025A&A...700A..10B - Astronomy and Astrophysics, volume 700A10 (2025/8-1)

NIRPS joining HARPS at ESO 3.6 m On-sky performance and science objectives.

BOUCHY F., DOYON R., PEPE F., MELO C., ARTIGAU E., MALO L., WILDI F., BARON F., DELFOSSE X., DE MEDEIROS J.R., REBOLO R., SANTOS N.C., WADE G., ALLART R., AL MOULLA K., BLIND N., CADIEUX C., CANTO MARTINS B.L., COOK N.J., DUMUSQUE X., FRENSCH Y., GENEST F., GONZALEZ HERNANDEZ J.I., GRIEVES N., LO CURTO G., LOVIS C., MIGNON L., NIELSEN L.D., POULIN-GIRARD A.-S., RASILLA J.L., RESHETOV V., SOSNOWSKA D., SORDET M., SAINT-ANTOINE J., SUAREZ MASCARENO A., THIBAULT S., VALLEE P., VANDAL T., ABREU M., AGUIAR J.L.A., ALLAIN G., ARIAL T., AUGER H., BARROS S.C.C., BAZINET L., BENNEKE B., BONFILS X., BOUCHER A., BOURRIER V., BOVAY S., BROEG C., BROUSSEAU D., BRUNIQUEL V., BRYAN M., CABRAL A., CARMONA A., CARTERET Y., CHALLITA Z., CHAZELAS B., CLOUTIER R., COELHO J., COINTEPAS M., CONOD U., COWAN N.B., CRISTO E., GOMES DA SILVA J., DAUPLAISE L., DARVEAU-BERNIER A., DE LIMA GOMES R., DE FREITAS D.B., DELGADO-MENA E., DELISLE J.-B., EHRENREICH D., FARIA J., FIGUEIRA P., FONTINELE D.O., FORVEILLE T., GAGNE J., GENOLET L., GRACIA TEMICH F., HERNANDEZ O., HOBSON M.J., HOEIJMAKERS J., HUBIN N., JAHANDAR F., JAYAWARDHANA R., KAUFL H.-U., KERLEY D., KOLB J., KRISHNAMURTHY V., LAFRENIERE D., LAMONTAGNE P., LARUE P., LEATH H., L'HEUREUX A., DE CASTRO LEAO I., LIM O., MARTINS A.M., MATTHEWS J., MAYER J.-S., MESSIAS Y.S., METCHEV S., MORANTA L., MORDASINI C., MOUNZER D., NARI N., OSBORN A., OUELLET M., OTEGI J., PARC L., PASQUINI L., PASSEGGER V.M., PELLETIER S., PEROUX C., PIAULET-GHORAYEB C., PLOTNYKOV M., POMPEI E., ROWE J., SARAJLIC M., SEGOVIA A., SEIDEL J., SEGRANSAN D., SCHNELL R., COSTA SILVA A.R., SRIVASTAVA A., STEFANOV A.K., TEIXEIRA M.A., UDRY S., VALENCIA D., VAULATO V., WARDENIER J.P., WEHBE B., WEISSERMAN D., WEVERS I., YARIV V. and ZINS G.

Abstract (from CDS):

Context. The Near-InfraRed Planet Searcher (NIRPS) is a high-resolution, high-stability near-infrared (NIR) spectrograph equipped with an adaptive optics (AO) system. Installed on the ESO 3.6-m telescope at La Silla Observatory, Chile, it was developed to enable radial velocity (RV) measurements of low-mass exoplanets around M dwarfs and to characterise exoplanet atmospheres in the NIR.
Aims. This paper provides a comprehensive design overview and characterisation of the NIRPS instrument, reporting on its on-sky performance, advising on how to carry out observations, and presenting its guaranteed time observation (GTO) programme.
Methods. Intensive on-sky testing phases were conducted between November 2019 and March 2023. The instrument started its operations on 1 April 2023.
Results. The spectral range continuously covers the Y, J, and H bands from 972.4 to 1919.6 nm. The thermal control system maintains 1 mK stability over several months, thereby minimising drift. The NIRPS's AO-assisted fibre link improves coupling efficiency and offers a unique high-angular resolution capability with a fibre acceptance of only 0.4″. A high spectral resolving power of R ∼ 90 000 and R ∼ 75 000 is provided in high-accuracy (HA) and high-efficiency (HE) modes, respectively. The overall throughput from the top of the atmosphere to the detector peaks at 13%. The RV precision, measured on the bright star Proxima with a known exoplanetary system, is 77 cms–1. NIRPS and HARPS can be used simultaneously, offering unprecedented spectral coverage for spectroscopic characterisation and stellar activity mitigation. Modal noise can be aptly mitigated by the implementation of fibre stretchers and AO scanning mode.
Conclusions. Initial results confirm that NIRPS opens new possibilities for RV measurements, stellar characterisation, and exoplanet atmosphere studies with high precision and high spectral fidelity. NIRPS demonstrated stable RV precision at the level of 1 m s–1 over several weeks. The instrument's high throughput, particularly in the H band, offers a notable improvement over previous spectrographs, enhancing our ability to detect small exoplanets.

Abstract Copyright: © The Authors 2025

Journal keyword(s): instrumentation: adaptive optics - instrumentation: spectrographs - techniques: radial velocities - techniques: spectroscopic - planets and satellites: atmospheres - planets and satellites: detection

Simbad objects: 38

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Number of rows : 38
N Identifier Otype ICRS (J2000)
RA 		ICRS (J2000)
DEC 		Mag U Mag B Mag V Mag R Mag I Sp type #ref
1850 - 2026 		#notes
1 G 158-27 PM* 00 06 43.1973190107 -07 32 17.019101068     13.837 13.605 10.15 M5.5V 257 0
2 G 268-38 PM* 00 44 59.3309137511 -15 16 17.542839990     14.150 13.801 11.19 M4.5V 197 0
3 NAME G 268-38b Pl 00 44 59.3309137511 -15 16 17.542839990           ~ 237 0
4 V* YZ Cet PM* 01 12 30.6368826382 -16 59 56.358011559 15.315 13.885 12.074 10.696 8.938 M4.0Ve 335 0
5 CD-47 399 PM* 01 21 45.3901703856 -46 42 51.764974020 14.103 12.893 11.403 10.426 9.31 M3V 62 0
6 HD 18979 * 03 02 12.8574783898 -28 43 47.242078322   10.54 9.85 9.994 9.173 G8V 21 0
7 LP 994-91 PM* 03 17 02.9761531523 -42 14 32.537542994     13.793 13.510   M3 22 0
8 NAME LP 994-91c Pl 03 17 02.9761531523 -42 14 32.537542994           ~ 5 0
9 NAME LP 994-91b Pl 03 17 02.9761531523 -42 14 32.537542994           ~ 9 0
10 * e Eri PM* 03 19 55.6509122226 -43 04 11.215188426 5.20 4.98 4.27 3.65 3.25 G6V 501 1
11 TOI-4666 * 03 45 09.5672047857 -39 03 47.104507331   16.746 15.244 14.767   ~ 3 0
12 Cl Melotte 25 OpC 04 30 27.4 +16 46 43           ~ 3309 0
13 NAME L 231-32d Pl 04 33 39.7200127728 -51 57 22.435373160           ~ 128 0
14 * pi.02 Ori * 04 50 36.7224881321 +08 54 00.652210041 4.39 4.36 4.35 4.29 4.29 A1Vn 193 0
15 CD-38 3220b Pl 07 10 24.0604565856 -39 05 50.571250476           ~ 421 0
16 NGC 2423 OpC 07 37 11.3 -13 51 45           ~ 175 0
17 V* YZ CMi PM* 07 44 40.1723046464 +03 33 08.875227574 13.761 12.831 11.225 9.958 8.263 M4.0Ve 957 0
18 L 98-59 PM* 08 18 07.6214406393 -68 18 46.805365587   13.22 11.685 11.294 9.25 M3V 135 0
19 NGC 2682 OpC 08 51 23.5 +11 48 54           ~ 2528 0
20 BD-03 2978b Pl 10 42 14.0836906368 -03 50 06.260144388           ~ 150 0
21 Wolf 359 PM* 10 56 28.9208702274 +07 00 53.003285286 16.706 15.541 13.507 11.684 9.507 dM6 775 0
22 K2-18b Pl 11 30 14.5177445592 +07 35 18.255348492           ~ 303 0
23 TOI-3832 * 11 50 48.5243544016 +75 12 12.059441241   13.838 13.207 13.137   ~ 2 0
24 NGC 4349 OpC 12 24 14.1 -61 52 11   8.01 7.4     ~ 124 0
25 WT 351 PM* 12 48 25.2161376936 -45 28 14.147959404   14.5       M1V 14 0
26 NAME Proxima Centauri b Pl 14 29 42.9461331854 -62 40 46.164680672           ~ 445 0
27 NAME Proxima Centauri PM* 14 29 42.9461331854 -62 40 46.164680672 14.21 12.95 11.13 9.45 7.41 M5.5Ve 1483 0
28 NAME Proxima d Pl? 14 29 42.9461331854 -62 40 46.164680672           ~ 23 0
29 * alf Cen B PM* 14 39 35.06311 -60 50 15.0992 2.89 2.21 1.33     K1V 1092 2
30 HD 133112b Pl 15 02 44.8678907928 -03 01 52.986571896           ~ 144 0
31 BD-07 4003b Pl 15 19 26.8269387505 -07 43 20.189497466           ~ 97 1
32 BD-07 4003 BY* 15 19 26.8269387505 -07 43 20.189497466 13.403 11.76 10.560 9.461 8.911 M3V 717 2
33 IC 4651 OpC 17 24 48.5 -49 55 23           ~ 374 0
34 TOI-4552.01 Pl? 17 38 51.6275257822 -47 38 06.040689289           ~ 2 0
35 NAME Barnard's star BY* 17 57 48.4984700685 +04 41 36.113879676 12.497 11.24 9.511 8.298 6.741 M4V 907 2
36 BD-05 5432b Pl 21 00 06.1968214728 -05 05 40.034944176           ~ 219 1
37 * tet01 Mic a2* 21 20 45.6194367384 -40 48 34.620146136 4.77 4.84 4.82 4.73 4.69 ApCrEuSr 142 0
38 * tet02 Mic ** 21 24 24.8179591 -41 00 24.103339   5.725 5.775     ApSi 58 0

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