NIRPS first light and early science: breaking the 1 m/s RV precision barrier at infrared wavelengths

• Main Authors: Artigau, Étienne, Bouchy, François, Doyon, René, Baron, Frédérique, Wildi, François, Pepe, Franceso, Cook, Neil J, Thibault, Simon, Reshetov, Vladimir, Dumusque, Xavier, Lovis, Christophe, Sosnowska, Danuta, Martins, Bruno L. Canto, De Medeiros, Jose Renan, Delfosse, Xavier, Santos, Nuno, Rebolo, Rafael, Abreu, Manuel, Allain, Guillaume, Allart, Romain, Auger, Hugues, Barros, Susana, Blind, Nicolas, Boisse, Isabelle, Bonfils, Xavier, Bovay, Sébastien, Bruniquel, Vincent, Cabral, Alexandre, Cadieux, Charles, Carmona, Andres, Carteret, Yann, Chazelas, Bruno, Cloutier, Ryan, Coelho, João, Cointepas, Marion, Conod, Uriel, Cowan, Nicolas, da Silva, João Gomes, Dauplaise, Laurie, Gomes, Roseane de Lima, Delgado-Mena, Elisa, Ehrenreich, David, Faria, João, Figueira, Pedro, Frensch, Yolanda, Gagné, Jonathan, Genest, Frédéric, Genolet, Ludovic, Hernández, Jonay I. González, Grieves, Nolan, Hernandez, Olivier, Hobson, Melissa J, Hoeijmakers, Jens, Kerley, Dan, Krishnamurthy, Vigneshwaran, Lafrenière, David, Lamontagne, Pierrot, Larue, Pierre, Leaf, Henry, Leão, Izan C, Lim, Olivia, Curto, Gaspare Lo, Martins, Allan M, Melo, Claudio, Messias, Yuri S, Mignon, Lucile, Moranta, Leslie, Mordasini, Christoph, Moulla, Khaled Al, Mounzer, Dany, Nari, Nicola, Nielsen, Louise, Osborn, Ares, Parc, Léna, Passegger, Vera M, Pelletier, Stefan, Peroux, Céline, Piaulet, Caroline, Plotnykov, Mykhaylo, Poulin-Girard, Anne-Sophie, Rasilla, José Luis, Saint-Antoine, Jonathan, Sarajlic, Mirsad, Seidel, Julia, Ségransan, Damien, Silva, Ana Rita Costa, Stefanov, Atanas K, Mascareño, Alejandro Suárez, Sordet, Michael, Teixeira, Márcio A, Udry, Stéphane, Valencia, Diana, Vallée, Philippe, Vandal, Thomas, Vaulato, Valentina, Wade, Gregg, Wardenier, Joost P, Wehbé, Bachar, Weisserman, Drew, Wevers, Ivan
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: 12-06-2024
• Subjects: Physics - Earth and Planetary Astrophysics; Physics - Instrumentation and Methods for Astrophysics
• DOI: 10.48550/arxiv.2406.08304

The Near-InfraRed Planet Searcher or NIRPS is a precision radial velocity
spectrograph developed through collaborative efforts among laboratories in
Switzerland, Canada, Brazil, France, Portugal and Spain. NIRPS extends to the
0.98-1.8 $\mu$m domain of the pioneering HARPS instrument at the La Silla 3.6-m
telescope in Chile and it has achieved unparalleled precision, measuring
stellar radial velocities in the infrared with accuracy better than 1 m/s.
NIRPS can be used either stand-alone or simultaneously with HARPS. Commissioned
in late 2022 and early 2023, NIRPS embarked on a 5-year Guaranteed Time
Observation (GTO) program in April 2023, spanning 720 observing nights. This
program focuses on planetary systems around M dwarfs, encompassing both the
immediate solar vicinity and transit follow-ups, alongside transit and emission
spectroscopy observations. We highlight NIRPS's current performances and the
insights gained during its deployment at the telescope. The lessons learned and
successes achieved contribute to the ongoing advancement of precision radial
velocity measurements and high spectral fidelity, further solidifying NIRPS'
role in the forefront of the field of exoplanets.