Dr. Florian Kerber Profile

Dr. Florian Kerber

Head of the Project Management Dept at European Southern Observatory

SPIE Involvement:

Author

Publications (73)

Proceedings Article | 29 August 2022 Presentation

The final design of MICADO, the first light ELT camera

Richard Davies, João Alves, Yann Clénet, Veronika Hörmann, Florian Kerber, Florian Lang-Bardl, Harald Nicklas, Jörg-Uwe Pott, Sebastian Rabien, Eckhard Sturm, Eline Tolstoy, Benedetta Vulcani, Jari Kotilainen

Proceedings Volume 12184, 121841Z (2022) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2629858

KEYWORDS: Cameras, Imaging spectroscopy, Adaptive optics, Wavefront sensors, Stars, Spectroscopes, Optical calibration, Observatories, Near infrared spectroscopy, Laser guide stars

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Proceedings Article | 18 December 2020 Presentation + Paper

A status report on the instruments for ESO’s Extremely Large Telescope

Suzanne Ramsay, Paola Amico, Naidu Bezawada, Fabio Biancat Marchet, Patrick Caillier, Michele Cirasuolo, Ralf Conzelmann, Reinhold Dorn, Sebastian Egner, Christoph Frank, Elizabeth George, Frederic Gonte, Juan Carlos González Herrera, Peter Hammersley, Christoph Haupt, Derek Ives, Gerd Jakob, Florian Kerber, Bertrand Koehler, Sylvain Oberti, Christian Schmid, Johannes Schimpelsberger, Ulf Seemann, Ralf Siebenmorgen, Roberto Tamai, Joël Vernet

Proceedings Volume 11447, 114471U (2020) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2562555

KEYWORDS: Large telescopes, Spectrographs, Adaptive optics, Imaging systems, Cameras, Mid-IR, Tomography, Astronomical imaging

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Proceedings Article | 13 December 2020 Presentation + Paper

Temperature and humidity profiling radiometer for telluric absorption line correction

Alain Smette, Florian Kerber, Thomas Rose

Proceedings Volume 11449, 114491H (2020) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2562675

KEYWORDS: Humidity, Radiometry, Profiling, Absorption, Atmospheric sciences, Spectroscopes, Astronomy, Radiative transfer, Databases, Telescopes

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Proceedings Article | 13 December 2020 Poster

A new approach to the absolute spectrophotometric calibration of standard stars: Vega and Sirius

Susana Deustua, John Woodward, Joseph Rice, Steven Brown, Stephen Maxwell, Florian Kerber, Alain Smette, Ralph Bohlin, Clarence Zarobila, Thinh Bui, Steven Grantham

Proceedings Volume 11445, 114453A (2020) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2562046

KEYWORDS: Stars, Calibration, Spectral calibration, Astrophysics, Galactic astronomy, Astronomy, Large telescopes, Visible radiation, Near infrared, Environmental monitoring

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Proceedings Article | 13 December 2020 Presentation + Paper

Precise photometry and astrometry in the core of the globular cluster NGC 6121 using PSF-R techniques

Davide Massari, Olivier Beltramo-Martin, Antonino Marasco, Julien Milli, Giuliana Fiorentino, Benoit Neichel, Thierry Fusco, Eline Tolstoy, Florian Kerber

Proceedings Volume 11448, 114480G (2020) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2560938

KEYWORDS: Point spread functions, Photometry, Adaptive optics, Modeling, Stars, Adaptive control, Astronomical imaging, Large telescopes

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Proceedings Article | 13 December 2020 Presentation + Paper

Turbulence nowcast for the Cerro Paranal and Cerro Armazones observatory sites

J. Milli, T. Rojas, B. Courtney-Barrer, F. Bian, J. Navarrete, F. Kerber, A. Otarola

Proceedings Volume 11448, 114481J (2020) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2561364

KEYWORDS: Turbulence, Observatories, Fluid dynamics

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Proceedings Article | 3 January 2020 Paper

The ESO Extremely Large Telescope instrumentation programme

Suzanne Ramsay, Paola Amico, Naidu Bezawada, Michele Cirasuolo, Frédéric Derie, Sebastian Egner, Elizabeth George, Frédéric Gonté, Juan Carlos González Herrera, Peter Hammersley, Christoph Haupt, Jeroen Heijmans, Derek Ives, Gerd Jakob, Florian Kerber, Bertrand Koehler, Vincenzo Mainieri, Antonio Manescau, Sylvain Oberti, Paolo Padovani, Celine Peroux, Ralf Siebenmorgen, Roberto Tamai, Joël Vernet

Proceedings Volume 11203, 1120303 (2020) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2541400

KEYWORDS: Adaptive optics, Spectrographs, Telescopes, Large telescopes, Cameras, Spectroscopy, Exoplanets, Stars, Spectral resolution, Laser guide stars

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Proceedings Article | 30 July 2018 Open Access

The MICADO first light imager for the ELT: overview, operation, simulation

R. Davies, J. Alves, Y. Clénet, F. Lang-Bardl, H. Nicklas, J.-U. Pott, R. Ragazzoni, E. Tolstoy, P. Amico, H. Anwand-Heerwart, S. Barboza, L. Barl, P. Baudoz, R. Bender, N. Bezawada, P. Bizenberger, W. Boland, P. Bonifacio, B. Borgo, T. Buey, F. Chapron, F. Chemla, M. Cohen, O. Czoske, V. Déo, K. Disseau, S. Dreizler, O. Dupuis, M. Fabricius, R. Falomo, P. Fedou, N. Förster Schreiber, V. Garrel, N. Geis, H. Gemperlein, E. Gendron, R. Genzel, S. Gillessen, M. Glück, F. Grupp, M. Hartl, M. Häuser, H.-J. Hess, R. Hofferbert, U. Hopp, V. Hörmann, Z. Hubert, E. Huby, J.-M. Huet, V. Hutterer, D. Ives, A. Janssen, W. Jellema, W. Kausch, F. Kerber, H. Kravcar, B. Le Ruyet, K. Leschinski, C. Mandla, M. Manhart, D. Massari, S. Mei, F. Merlin, L. Mohr, A. Monna, N. Muench, F. Müller, G. Musters, R. Navarro, U. Neumann, N. Neumayer, J. Niebsch, M. Plattner, N. Przybilla, S. Rabien, R. Ramlau, J. Ramos, S. Ramsay, P. Rhode, A. Richter, J. Richter, H.-W. Rix, G. Rodeghiero, R.-R. Rohloff, M. Rosensteiner, G. Rousset, J. Schlichter, J. Schubert, A. Sevin, R. Stuik, E. Sturm, J. Thomas, N. Tromp, G. Verdoes-Kleijn, F. Vidal, R. Wagner, M. Wegner, W. Zeilinger, J. Ziegleder, B. Ziegler, G. Zins

Proceedings Volume 10702, 107021S (2018) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2311483

KEYWORDS: Adaptive optics, Distortion, Planets

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Proceedings Article | 10 July 2018 Presentation + Paper

The dirt in astronomy's genie lamp: ThO contamination of Th-Ar calibration lamps

Gillian Nave, Florian Kerber, Elizabeth Den Hartog, Gaspare Lo Curto

Proceedings Volume 10704, 1070407 (2018) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2312286

KEYWORDS: Lamps, Thorium, Calibration, Spectrographs, Astronomy, Contamination, Argon, Manufacturing, Spectroscopy, Fourier transforms

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Proceedings Article | 8 July 2018 Paper

A fibre scrambling unit for the laser frequency comb of ESPRESSO

Christoph Frank, Florian Kerber, Gerardo Avila, Nicola Di Lieto, Gaspare Lo Curto, Antonio Manescau

Proceedings Volume 10702, 107026P (2018) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2313484

KEYWORDS: Calibration, Spectrographs, Frequency combs, Observatories, Computer aided design, Exoplanets, Astronomy, Lamps, Light sources

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Proceedings Article | 6 July 2018 Paper

Full system test and early preliminary acceptance Europe results for CRIRES+

Anna Brucalassi, Reinhold Dorn, Roman Follert, Artie Hatzes, Paul Bristow, Ulf Seemann, Claudio Cumani, Siegfried Eschbaumer, Andreas Haimerl, Marcus Haug, Ulrike Heiter, Renate Hinterschuster, Derek Ives, Yves Jung, Florian Kerber, Barbara Klein, Alexis Lavail, Jean Louis Lizon, Thomas Marquart, Christophe Moins, Ignacio Molina-Conde, Ernesto Oliva, Luca Pasquini, Jérôme Paufique, Nikolai Piskunov, Jörg Stegmeier, Eric Stempels, Sebastien Tordo, Elena Valenti, Heiko Anwand-Heerwart, Katja Hauptner, Peter Jeep, Christopher Marvin, Ansgar Reiners, Petra Rhode, Christof Schmidt, Tim Umlauf

Proceedings Volume 10702, 1070239 (2018) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2313743

KEYWORDS: Calibration, Adaptive optics, Spectrographs, Metrology, Fabry–Perot interferometers, Cryogenics, Detector arrays

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Proceedings Article | 6 July 2018 Presentation + Paper

Instrumentation for ESO's Extremely Large Telescope

Suzanne Ramsay, Mark Casali, Paola Amico, Naidu Bezawada, Michele Cirasuolo, Ralf Conzelmann, Sebastian Egner, Christoph Frank, Elizabeth George, Juan Carlos González Herrera, Peter Hammersley, Christoph Haupt, Jeroen Heijmans, Derek Ives, Gerd Jakob, Florian Kerber, Betrand Koehler, Vincenzo Mainieri, Antonio Manescau, Enrico Marchetti, Sylvain Oberti, Paolo Padovani, Christian Schmid, Johannes Schimpelsberger, Ralf Siebenmorgen, Roberto Tamai, Joël Vernet

Proceedings Volume 10702, 107021P (2018) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2313540

KEYWORDS: Sensors, Adaptive optics, Telescopes, Cameras, Spectrographs, Imaging spectroscopy, Wavefront sensors, Cryogenics, Large telescopes, Spectroscopes

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Proceedings Article | 6 July 2018 Paper

A unique infrared spectropolarimetric unit for CRIRES+

Nikolai Piskunov, Eric Stempels, Alexis Lavail, Michael Escuti, Frans Snik, Andrey Dolgopolov, Milan Rozel, Candice Durandet, Artie Hatzes, Paul Bristow, Anna Brucalassi, Claudio Cumani, Reinhold Dorn, Andreas Haimerl, Ulrike Heiter, Renate Hinterschuster, Roman Follert, Derek Ives, Yves Jung, Florian Kerber, Barbara Klein, Jean-Louis Lizon, Thomas Marquart, Ignacio Molina-Conde, Luca Pasquini, Jérôme Paufique, Ernesto Oliva, Ansgar Reiners, Ulf Seemann, Jörg Stegmeier, Sebastien Tordo, Elena Valenti

Proceedings Volume 10702, 1070234 (2018) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2313512

KEYWORDS: Polarization, Sensors, Transmittance, Infrared radiation, Telescopes, Manufacturing, Stars, Magnetism, Adaptive optics, Infrared spectroscopy

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High-resolution infrared spectropolarimetry has many science applications in astrophysics. One of them is measuring weak magnetic fields using the Zeeman effect. Infrared domain is particularly advantageous as Zeeman splitting of spectral lines is proportional to the square of the wavelength while the intrinsic width of the line cores increases only linearly. Important science cases include detection and monitoring of global magnetic fields on solar-type stars, study of the magnetic field evolution from stellar formation to the final stages of the stellar life with massive stellar winds, and the dynamo mechanism operation across the boundary between fully- and partially-convective stars. CRIRES+ (the CRIRES upgrade project) includes a novel spectropolarimetric unit (SPU) based on polar- ization gratings. The novel design allows to perform beam-splitting very early in the optical path, directly after the tertiary mirror of the telescope (the ESO Very Large Telescope, VLT), minimizing instrumental polariza- tion. The new SPU performs polarization beam-splitting in the near-infrared while keeping the telescope beam mostly unchanged in the optical domain, making it compatible with the adaptive optics system of the CRIRES+ instrument. The SPU consists of four beam-splitters optimized for measuring circular and linear polarization of spectral lines in YJ and HK bands. The SPU can perform beam switching allowing to correct for throughput in each beam and for variations in detector pixel sensitivity. Other new features of CRIRES+, such as substantially increased wavelength coverage, stability and advanced data reduction pipeline will further enhance the sensitivity of the polarimetric mode. The combination of the SPU, CRIRES+ and the VLT is a unique facility for making major progress in understanding stellar activity. In this article we present the design of the SPU, laboratory measurements of individual components and of the whole unit as well as the performance prediction for the operation at the VLT.

Proceedings Article | 9 August 2016 Paper

The "+" for CRIRES: enabling better science at infrared wavelength and high spectral resolution at the ESO VLT

Reinhold Dorn, Roman Follert, Paul Bristow, Claudio Cumani, Siegfried Eschbaumer, Jason Grunhut, Andreas Haimerl, Artie Hatzes, Ulrike Heiter, Renate Hinterschuster, Derek Ives, Yves Jung, Florian Kerber, Barbara Klein, Alexis Lavail, Jean Louis Lizon, Tom Löwinger, Ignacio Molina-Conde, Belinda Nicholson, Thomas Marquart, Ernesto Oliva, Livia Origlia, Luca Pasquini, Jérôme Paufique, Nikolai Piskunov, Ansgar Reiners, Ulf Seemann, Jörg Stegmeier, Eric Stempels, Sebastien Tordo

Proceedings Volume 9908, 99080I (2016) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2232837

KEYWORDS: Spectrographs, Spectral resolution, Infrared radiation, Sensors, Adaptive optics, Spectral resolution, Infrared radiation, Spectrographs, Calibration, Mirrors, Stars, Cameras, Polarization

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Proceedings Article | 9 August 2016 Open Access

MICADO: first light imager for the E-ELT

R. Davies, J. Schubert, M. Hartl, J. Alves, Y. Clénet, F. Lang-Bardl, H. Nicklas, J.-U. Pott, R. Ragazzoni, E. Tolstoy, T. Agocs, H. Anwand-Heerwart, S. Barboza, P. Baudoz, R. Bender, P. Bizenberger, A. Boccaletti, W. Boland, P. Bonifacio, F. Briegel, T. Buey, F. Chapron, M. Cohen, O. Czoske, S. Dreizler, R. Falomo, P. Feautrier, N. Förster Schreiber, E. Gendron, R. Genzel, M. Glück, D. Gratadour, R. Greimel, F. Grupp, M. Häuser, M. Haug, J. Hennawi, H. J. Hess, V. Hörmann, R. Hofferbert, U. Hopp, Z. Hubert, D. Ives, W. Kausch, F. Kerber, H. Kravcar, K. Kuijken, M. Leitzinger, K. Leschinski, D. Massari, S. Mei, F. Merlin, L. Mohr, A. Monna, F. Müller, R. Navarro, M. Plattner, N. Przybilla, R. Ramlau, S. Ramsay, T. Ratzka, P. Rhode, J. Richter, H.-W. Rix, G. Rodeghiero, R.-R. Rohloff, G. Rousset, R. Ruddenklau, V. Schaffenroth, J. Schlichter, A. Sevin, R. Stuik, E. Sturm, J. Thomas, N. Tromp, M. Turatto, G. Verdoes-Kleijn, F. Vidal, R. Wagner, M. Wegner, W. Zeilinger, B. Ziegler, G. Zins

Proceedings Volume 9908, 99081Z (2016) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2233047

KEYWORDS: Adaptive optics, Cameras, Adaptive optics, Cameras, Stars, Mirrors, Galactic astronomy, Imaging spectroscopy, Interfaces, Spectroscopy, Zoom lenses, Sensors

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Proceedings Article | 9 August 2016 Paper

Relative stability of two laser frequency combs for routine operation on HARPS and FOCES

Rafael Probst, Gaspare Lo Curto, Gerardo Ávila, Anna Brucalassi, Bruno Canto Martins, Izan de Castro Leão, Massimiliano Esposito, Jonay González Hernández, Frank Grupp, Theodor Hänsch, Ronald Holzwarth, Hanna Kellermann, Florian Kerber, Olaf Mandel, Antonio Manescau , Luca Pasquini, Eszter Pozna, Rafael Rebolo, José Renan de Medeiros, Sebastian Stark, Tilo Steinmetz, Alejandro Suárez Mascareño, Thomas Udem, Josefina Urrutia, Yuanjie Wu

Proceedings Volume 9908, 990864 (2016) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2231434

KEYWORDS: Spectrographs, Calibration, Frequency combs, Astronomy, Observatories, Multimode fibers, Telescopes, Lanthanum, Lamps, Precision calibration

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Proceedings Article | 9 August 2016 Paper

Progress along the E-ELT instrumentation roadmap

Suzanne Ramsay, Mark Casali, Michele Cirasuolo, Sebastian Egner, Peter Gray, Juan Carlos Gonzáles Herrera, Peter Hammersley, Christoph Haupt, Derek Ives, Lieselotte Jochum, Markus Kasper, Florian Kerber, Steffan Lewis, Vincenzo Mainieri, Antonio Manescau, Enrico Marchetti, Sylvain Oberti, Paolo Padovani, Christian Schmid, Johannes Schimpelsberger, Ralf Siebenmorgen, Orsolya Szecsenyi, Roberto Tamai, Joël Vernet

Proceedings Volume 9908, 99081T (2016) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2232407

KEYWORDS: Spectrographs, Adaptive optics, Cameras, Telescopes, Spectral resolution, Interfaces, Space telescopes, Laser guide stars, Mirrors, Sensors

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Proceedings Article | 3 August 2016 Paper

VISIR upgrade overview: all's well that ends well

Florian Kerber, Hans Ulrich Käufl, Konrad Tristram, Daniel Asmus, Pedro Baksai, Nicola Di Lieto, Danuta Dobrzycka, Philippe Duhoux, Gert Finger, Christian Hummel, Derek Ives, Gerd Jakob, Lars Lundin, Dimitri Mawet, Leander Mehrgan, Eric Pantin, Miguel Riquelme, Joel Sanchez, Stefan Sandrock, Ralf Siebenmorgen, Jörg Stegmeier, Alain Smette, Julian Taylor, Mario van den Ancker, Guillermo Valdes, Lars Venema

Proceedings Volume 9908, 99080D (2016) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2232441

KEYWORDS: Sensors, Mid-IR, Imaging spectroscopy, Detector arrays, Imaging systems, Image quality, Telescopes, Coronagraphy, Stars, Spectroscopy

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We present an overview of the VISIR instrument after its upgrade and return to science operations. VISIR is the midinfrared imager and spectrograph at ESO’s VLT. The project team is comprised of ESO staff and members of the original VISIR consortium: CEA Saclay and ASTRON. The project plan was based on input from the ESO user community with the goal of enhancing the scientific performance and efficiency of VISIR by a combination of measures: installation of improved hardware, optimization of instrument operations and software support. The cornerstone of the upgrade is the 1k by 1k Si:As AQUARIUS detector array manufactured by Raytheon. In addition, a new prism spectroscopic mode covers the whole N-band in a single observation. Finally, new scientific capabilities for high resolution and high-contrast imaging are offered by sub-aperture mask and coronagraphic modes. In order to make optimal use of favourable atmospheric conditions, a water vapour monitor has been deployed on Paranal, allowing for real-time decisions and the introduction of a user-defined constraint on water vapour. During the commissioning in 2012, it was found that the on-sky sensitivity of the AQUARIUS detector was significantly below expectations. Extensive testing of the detector arrays in the laboratory and on-sky enabled us to diagnose the cause for the shortcoming of the detector as excess low frequency noise. It is inherent to the design chosen for this detector and cannot be remedied by changing the detector set-up. Since this is a form of correlated noise, its impact can be limited by modulating the scene recorded by the detector. After careful analysis, we have implemented fast (up to 4 Hz) chopping with field stabilization using the secondary mirror of the VLT. During commissioning, the upgraded VISIR has been confirmed to be more sensitive than the old instrument, and in particular for low-resolution spectroscopy in the N-band, a gain of a factor 6 is realized in observing efficiency. After overcoming several additional technical problems, VISIR is back in Science Operations since April 2015. In addition an upgrade of the IT infrastructure related to VISIR has been conducted in order to support burst-mode operations. Science Verification of the new modes was performed in Feb 2016. The upgraded VISIR is a powerful instrument providing close to background limited performance for diffraction-limited observations at an 8-m telescope. It offers synergies with facilities such as ALMA, JWST, VLTI and SOFIA, while a wealth of targets is available from survey works like WISE. In addition, it will bring confirmation of the technical readiness and scientific value of several aspects for future mid-IR instrumentation at Extremely Large Telescopes. We also present several lessons learned during the project.

Proceedings Article | 1 August 2016 Paper

Characterizing the cross dispersion reflection gratings of CRIRES+

Roman Follert, Dieter Taubert, Jörg Hollandt, Christian Monte, Ernesto Oliva, Ulf Seemann, Tom Löwinger, Heiko Anwand-Heerwart, Christof Schmidt, Reinhold Dorn, Paul Bristow, Artie Hatzes, Ansgar Reiners, Nikolai Piskunov, Ulrike Heiter, Eric Stempels, Thomas Marquart, Alexis Lavail, Claudio Cumani, Jason Grunhut, Andreas Haimerl, Renate Hinterschuster, Derek Ives, Yves Jung, Florian Kerber, Barbara Klein, Jean Louis Lizon, Ignacio Molina-Conde, Belinda Nicholson, Livia Origlia, Luca Pasquini, Jérôme Paufique, Jörg Stegmeier, Sebastien Tordo

Proceedings Volume 9912, 99122B (2016) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2232569

KEYWORDS: Spectrographs, Infrared spectroscopy, Infrared spectroscopy, Mirrors, Sensors, Polarization, Signal detection, Polarizers, Mirror mounts, Infrared telescopes, Optical design

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Proceedings Article | 27 July 2016 Paper

MAORY: adaptive optics module for the E-ELT

E. Diolaiti, P. Ciliegi, R. Abicca, G. Agapito, C. Arcidiacono, A. Baruffolo, M. Bellazzini, V. Biliotti, M. Bonaglia, G. Bregoli, R. Briguglio, O. Brissaud, L. Busoni, L. Carbonaro, A. Carlotti, E. Cascone, J.-J. Correia, F. Cortecchia, G. Cosentino, V. De Caprio, M. de Pascale, A. De Rosa, C. Del Vecchio, A. Delboulbé, G. Di Rico, S. Esposito, D. Fantinel, P. Feautrier, C. Felini, D. Ferruzzi, L. Fini, G. Fiorentino, I. Foppiani, M. Ghigo, C. Giordano, E. Giro, L. Gluck, F. Hénault, L. Jocou, F. Kerber, P. La Penna, S. Lafrasse, M. Lauria, E. le Coarer, M. Le Louarn, M. Lombini, Y. Magnard, E. Maiorano, F. Mannucci, M. Mapelli, E. Marchetti, D. Maurel, L. Michaud, G. Morgante, T. Moulin, S. Oberti, G. Pareschi, M. Patti, A. Puglisi, P. Rabou, R. Ragazzoni, S. Ramsay, A. Riccardi, S. Ricciardi, M. Riva, S. Rochat, F. Roussel, A. Roux, B. Salasnich, P. Saracco, L. Schreiber, M. Spavone, E. Stadler, M.-H. Sztefek, N. Ventura, C. Vérinaud, M. Xompero, A. Fontana, F. M. Zerbi

Proceedings Volume 9909, 99092D (2016) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2234585

KEYWORDS: Adaptive optics, Telescopes, Mirrors, Wavefront sensors, Adaptive optics, Mirrors, Laser guide stars, Relays, Interfaces, Deformable mirrors, Geometrical optics, Space telescopes

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Proceedings Article | 15 July 2016 Paper

Through thick and thin: quantitative classification of photometric observing conditions on Paranal

Florian Kerber, Richard Querel, Bianca Neureiter, Reinhard Hanuschik

Proceedings Volume 9910, 99101S (2016) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2232333

KEYWORDS: Clouds, Radiometry, Clouds, Radiometry, Observatories, Diagnostics, Infrared cameras, Transparency, Photometry, Stars, Cameras, Calibration

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Proceedings Article | 11 July 2016 Paper

Investigating the effect of atmospheric turbulence on mid-IR data quality with VISIR

Mario van den Ancker, Daniel Asmus, Christian Hummel, Hans-Ulrich Käufl, Florian Kerber, Alain Smette, Julian Taylor, Konrad Tristram, Jakob Vinther, Burkhard Wolff

Proceedings Volume 9910, 99102T (2016) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2233701

KEYWORDS: Image quality, Mid-IR, Image quality, Planets, Stars, Transparency, Velocity measurements, Data modeling, Telescopes, Planetary systems, Statistical analysis

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Proceedings Article | 7 August 2014 Paper

Preparing for the phase B of the E-ELT MCAO module project

Emiliano Diolaiti, Carmelo Arcidiacono, Giovanni Bregoli, Reginald Christopher Butler, Matteo Lombini, Laura Schreiber, Andrea Baruffolo, Alastair Basden, Michele Bellazzini, Enrico Cascone, Paolo Ciliegi, Fausto Cortecchia, Giuseppe Cosentino, Vincenzo De Caprio, Adriano De Rosa, Nigel Dipper, Simone Esposito, Italo Foppiani, Enrico Giro, Gianluca Morgante, Richard Myers, Fabien Patru, Roberto Ragazzoni, Armando Riccardi, Marco Riva, Filippo Maria Zerbi, Mark Casali, Bernard Delabre, Norbert Hubin, Florian Kerber, Miska Le Louarn, Enrico Marchetti, Suzanne Ramsay, Stefan Stroebele, Elise Vernet

Proceedings Volume 9148, 91480Y (2014) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2056550

KEYWORDS: Mirrors, Adaptive optics, Telescopes, Actuators, Relays, Wavefront sensors, Optical design, Sodium, Optical instrument design, Atmospheric turbulence

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Proceedings Article | 6 August 2014 Paper

Quantifying photometric observing conditions on Paranal using an IR camera

Florian Kerber, Richard Querel, Reinhard Hanuschik

Proceedings Volume 9149, 91490M (2014) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2055168

KEYWORDS: Clouds, Infrared cameras, Radiometry, Cameras, Observatories, Calibration, Photometry, Transparency, Stars, Atmospheric physics

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Proceedings Article | 6 August 2014 Paper

Wavelength calibration from 1-5μm for the CRIRES+ high-resolution spectrograph at the VLT

U. Seemann, G. Anglada-Escude, D. Baade, P. Bristow, R. Dorn, R. Follert, D. Gojak, J. Grunhut, A. Hatzes, U. Heiter, D. Ives, P. Jeep, Y. Jung, H.-U. Käufl, F. Kerber, B. Klein, J.-L. Lizon, M. Lockhart, T. Löwinger, T. Marquart, E. Oliva, J. Paufique, N. Piskunov, Eszter Pozna, A. Reiners, A. Smette, J. Smoker, E. Stempels, E. Valenti

Proceedings Volume 9147, 91475G (2014) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2056668

KEYWORDS: Calibration, Absorption, K band, Fabry–Perot interferometers, Spectrographs, Near infrared, Fourier transforms, Spectral resolution, Molecules, Sensors

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Proceedings Article | 31 July 2014 Paper

VISIR upgrade overview and status

Florian Kerber, Hans-Ulrich Käufl, Pedro Baksai, Nicola Di Lieto, Danuta Dobrzycka, Philippe Duhoux, Gert Finger, Stephanie Heikamp, Derek Ives, Gerd Jakob, Lars Lundin, Dimitri Mawet, Leander Mehrgan, Yazan Momany, Vincent Moreau, Eric Pantin, Miguel Riquelme, Stefan Sandrock, Ralf Siebenmorgen, Alain Smette, Julian Taylor, Mario van den Ancker, Guillermo Valdes, Lars Venema, Ueli Weilenmann

Proceedings Volume 9147, 91470C (2014) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2055172

KEYWORDS: Sensors, Spectroscopy, Mid-IR, Imaging systems, Imaging spectroscopy, Prisms, Coronagraphy, Quantum efficiency, Detector arrays, Stars

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We present an overview of the VISIR upgrade project. VISIR is the mid-infrared imager and spectrograph at ESO’s VLT. The project team is comprised of ESO staff and members of the original VISIR consortium: CEA Saclay and ASTRON. The project plan is based on input from the ESO user community with the goal of enhancing the scientific performance and efficiency of VISIR by a combination of measures: installation of improved hardware, optimization of instrument operations and software support. The cornerstone of the upgrade is the 1k by 1k Si:As AQUARIUS detector array (Raytheon) which has been carefully characterized in ESO’s IR detector test facility (modified TIMMI 2 instrument). A prism spectroscopic mode will cover the N-band in a single observation. New scientific capabilities for high resolution and high-contrast imaging will be offered by sub-aperture mask (SAM) and phase-mask coronagraphic (4QPM/AGPM) modes. In order to make optimal use of favourable atmospheric conditions a water vapour monitor has been deployed on Paranal, allowing for real-time decisions and the introduction of a user-defined constraint on water vapour. During the commissioning in 2012 it was found that the on-sky sensitivity of the AQUARIUS detector was significantly below expectations and that VISIR was not ready to go back to science operations. Extensive testing of the detector arrays in the laboratory and on-sky enabled us to diagnose the cause for the shortcoming of the detector as excess low frequency noise (ELFN). It is inherent to the design chosen for this detector and can’t be remedied by changing the detector set-up. Since this is a form of correlated noise its impact can be limited by modulating the scene recorded by the detector. We have studied several mitigation options and found that faster chopping using the secondary mirror (M2) of the VLT offers the most promising way forward. Faster M2 chopping has been tested and is scheduled for implementation before the end of 2014 after which we plan to re-commission VISIR. In addition an upgrade of the IT infrastructure related to VISIR is planned in order to support burst-mode operations. The upgraded VISIR will be a powerful instrument providing close to background limited performance for diffraction-limited observations at an 8-m telescope. It will offer synergy with facilities such as ALMA, JWST, VLTI and SOFIA, while a wealth of targets is available from survey work (e.g. VISTA, WISE). In addition it will bring confirmation of the technical readiness and scientific value of several aspects of potential mid-IR instrumentation at Extremely Large Telescopes.

Proceedings Article | 28 July 2014 Paper

Novel infrared polarimeter for the ESO CRIRES+ instrument

Matthew Lockhart, Nikolai Piskunov, Eric Stempels, Michael Escuti, Ernesto Oliva, Hans-Ulrich Käufl, Ulrike Heiter, Thomas Marquart, Guillem Anglada-Escude, Dietrich Baade, Paul Bristow, Reinhold Dorn, Roman Follert, Domingo Gojak, Jason Grunhut, Artie Hatzes, Michael Hilker, Derek Ives, Yves Jung, Florian Kerber, Barbara Klein, Jean-Louis Lizon, Tom Löwinger, Livia Origlia, Luca Pasquini, Jerome Paufique, Eszter Pozna, Ansgar Reiners, Ulf Seemann, Alain Smette, Jonathan Smoker, Elena Valenti

Proceedings Volume 9147, 91478P (2014) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2056367

KEYWORDS: Polarimetry, Beam splitters, Infrared radiation, Polarization, Sensors, Adaptive optics, Telescopes, Prototyping, Monochromators, Infrared telescopes

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Proceedings Article | 28 July 2014 Paper

Drift scanning technique for mid-infrared background subtraction

Stephanie Heikamp, Bernhard Brandl, Christoph Keller, Lars Venema, Eric Pantin, Ralf Siebenmorgen, Derek Ives, Florian Kerber

Proceedings Volume 9147, 91479T (2014) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2065675

KEYWORDS: Signal to noise ratio, Sensors, Photons, Mid-IR, Telescopes, Mirrors, Calibration, Thermography, Infrared radiation, Signal detection

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Proceedings Article | 28 July 2014 Paper

All-sky homogeneity of precipitable water vapour over Paranal

Richard Querel, Florian Kerber

Proceedings Volume 9147, 914792 (2014) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2055500

KEYWORDS: Radiometry, Astronomy, Observatories, Humidity, Microwave radiation, Statistical analysis, Infrared radiation, Atmospheric modeling, Profiling, Clouds

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A Low Humidity and Temperature Profiling (LHATPRO) microwave radiometer, manufactured by Radiometer Physics GmbH (RPG), is used to monitor sky conditions over ESO’s Paranal observatory in support of VLT science operations. The unit measures several channels across the strong water vapour emission line at 183 GHz, necessary for resolving the low levels of precipitable water vapour (PWV) that are prevalent on Paranal (median ~2.4 mm). The instrument consists of a humidity profiler (183-191 GHz), a temperature profiler (51-58 GHz), and an infrared camera (~10 μm) for cloud detection. We present, for the first time, a statistical analysis of the homogeneity of all-sky PWV using 21 months of periodic (every 6 hours) all-sky scans from the radiometer. These data provide unique insight into the spatial and temporal variation of atmospheric conditions relevant for astronomical observations, particularly in the infrared. We find the PWV over Paranal to be remarkably homogeneous across the sky down to 27.5° elevation with a median variation of 0.32 mm (peak to valley) or 0.07 mm (rms). The homogeneity is a function of the absolute PWV but the relative variation is fairly constant at 10-15% (peak to valley) and 3% (rms). Such variations will not be a significant issue for analysis of astronomical data. Users at ESO can specify PWV – measured at zenith – as an ambient constraint in service mode to enable, for instance, very demanding observations in the infrared that can only be conducted during periods of very good atmospheric transmission and hence low PWV. We conclude that in general it will not be necessary to add another observing constraint for PWV homogeneity to ensure integrity of observations. For demanding observations requiring very low PWV, where the relative variation is higher, the optimum support could be provided by observing with the LHATPRO in the same line-of-sight simultaneously. Such a mode of operations has already been tested but will have to be justified in terms of scientific gain before implementation can be considered. This will be explored further in the future.

Proceedings Article | 24 July 2014 Paper

Concept and optical design of the cross-disperser module for CRIRES+

E. Oliva, A. Tozzi, D. Ferruzzi, L. Origlia, A. Hatzes, R. Follert, T. Löwinger, N. Piskunov, U. Heiter, M. Lockhart, T. Marquart, E. Stempels, A. Reiners, G. Anglada-Escude, Ulf Seemann, R. Dorn, P. Bristow, D. Baade, B. Delabre, D. Gojak, J. Grunhut, Barbara Klein, M. Hilker, D. Ives, Y. Jung, H.-U. Kaeufl, F. Kerber, J. Lizon, L. Pasquini, J. Paufique, Eszter Pozna, A. Smette, J. Smoker, E. Valenti

Proceedings Volume 9147, 91477R (2014) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2054381

KEYWORDS: Cameras, Tolerancing, Mirrors, Optical filters, Spectroscopy, Optical components, Optical design, Infrared spectroscopy, Sensors, Coating

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Proceedings Article | 24 July 2014 Paper

Opto-mechanical design of a new cross dispersion unit for the CRIRES+ high resolution spectrograph for the VLT

Jean Louis Lizon, Barbara Klein, Ernesto Oliva, Tom Löwinger, Guillem Anglada Escude, Dietrich Baade, Paul Bristow, Reinhold Dorn, Roman Follert, Jason Grunhut, Artie Hatzes, Ulrike Heiter, Derek Ives, Yves Jung, Florian Kerber, Matt Lockhart, Thomas Marquart, Livia Origlia, Luca Pasquini, Jerome Paufique, N. Piskunov, Eszter Pozna, Ansgar Reiners, Alain Smette, Jonathan Smoker, Ulf Seemann, Eric Stempels, Elena Valenti

Proceedings Volume 9147, 91477S (2014) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2054800

KEYWORDS: Sensors, Cryogenics, Cameras, Lenses, Spectrographs, Interfaces, Mirrors, Optomechanical design, Optical design, Aluminum

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