CYCLOPS2: the fibre image slicer upgrade for the UCLES high resolution spectrograph

TL;DR

CYCLOPS2 is an upgraded fibre image slicer for the UCLES spectrograph, enhancing spectral resolution and throughput by replacing the original Coudé train with a fibre-based system, supporting simultaneous calibration and improved efficiency.

Contribution

The paper introduces CYCLOPS2, a novel fibre image slicer upgrade for UCLES, offering higher resolution, better throughput, and additional calibration features compared to the previous system.

Findings

Achieves spectral resolution of R=70000

Provides up to twice the flux of the standard slit

Supports simultaneous ThAr wavelength calibration

Abstract

CYCLOPS2 is an upgrade for the UCLES high resolution spectrograph on the Anglo-Australian Telescope, scheduled for commissioning in semester 2012A. By replacing the 5 mirror Coud\'e train with a Cassegrain mounted fibre-based image slicer CYCLOPS2 simultaneously provides improved throughput, reduced aperture losses and increased spectral resolution. Sixteen optical fibres collect light from a 5.0 arcsecond^2 area of sky and reformat it into the equivalent of a 0.6 arcsecond wide slit, delivering a spectral resolution of R = 70000 and up to twice as much flux as the standard 1 arcsecond slit of the Coud\'e train. CYCLOPS2 also adds support for simultaneous ThAr wavelength calibration via a dedicated fibre. CYCLOPS2 consists of three main components, the fore-optics unit, fibre bundle and slit unit. The fore optics unit incorporates magnification optics and a lenslet array and is designed to mount to the CURE Cassegrain instrument interface, which provides acquisition, guiding and calibration facilities. The fibre bundle transports the light from the Cassegrain focus to the UCLES spectrograph at Coud\'e and also includes a fibre mode scrambler. The slit unit consists of the fibre slit and relay optics to project an image of the slit onto the entrance aperture of the UCLES spectrograph. CYCLOPS2 builds on experience with the first generation CYCLOPS fibre system, which we also describe in this paper. We present the science case for an image slicing fibre feed for echelle spectroscopy and describe the design of CYCLOPS and CYCLOPS2.