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arXiv · 2606.05782

Two Fabry-Perots and two calibration units for CARMENES

Sebastian Schafer·Eike W. Günther·Ansgar Reiners·Johannes Winkler·Michael Pluto·Jörg Schiller
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Abstract

The wavelength calibration and nightly drift measurements for CARMENES (Calar Alto high-Resolution search for M dwarfs with Exoearths with Near-infrared and optical Echelle Spectrographs) are provided by a combination of hollow cathode lamps and two Fabry-P\'{e}rot units. CARMENES consists of two spectrograph, one for the visible part of the spectrum (520-960nm) and one for the near infrared (960-1710nm). Each spectrograph has its own calibration unit and its own Fabry-P\'{e}rot. The calibration units are equipped with Th-Ne, U-Ar and U-Ne hollow cathode lamps as well as a flat field lamp. The Fabry-P\'{e}rots are optimized for the wavelength ranges of the spectrographs and use halogen-tungsten lamps as light sources. The Fabry-P\'{e}rots have a free spectral range of 15GHz for the visible and 12.2GHz for the near infrared which translates to $\sim$17,900 useful emission lines for the visible spectrograph and $\sim$9,700 for the infrared. These lines are used to compute the wavelength solution, and to monitor the instrumental drift during the night. The Fabry-P\'{e}rot units are temperature and pressure stabilized and designed to reach an internal stability of better than 10\,cm/s per night. Here, we present the designs of both Fabry-P\'{e}rot units and the calibration units.

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Sebastian Schafer, Eike W. Günther, Ansgar Reiners, Johannes Winkler, Michael Pluto, Jörg Schiller. 2026-06-04. Two Fabry-Perots and two calibration units for CARMENES. https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2315241

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