SHARK-NIR, the coronagraphic camera for LBT, moving toward construction

TL;DR

SHARK-NIR is a coronagraphic camera for the LBT designed to enable high-contrast imaging and spectroscopy from 0.5 to 1.7 micrometers, supporting exoplanet and astrophysical studies.

Contribution

The paper presents the final design and construction approval of SHARK-NIR, a new instrument for the LBT with advanced coronagraphic capabilities across a broad wavelength range.

Findings

Final design approved for construction in 2017.

Instrument will enable exoplanet imaging and characterization.

Enhanced performance with LBT AO upgrade.

Abstract

SHARK-NIR is one of the two coronagraphic instruments proposed for the Large Binocular Telescope. Together with SHARK-VIS (performing coronagraphic imaging in the visible domain), it will offer the possibility to do binocular observations combining direct imaging, coronagraphic imaging and coronagraphic low resolution spectroscopy in a wide wavelength domain, going from 0.5{\mu}m to 1.7{\mu}m. Additionally, the contemporary usage of LMIRCam, the coronagraphic LBTI NIR camera, working from K to L band, will extend even more the covered wavelength range. In January 2017 SHARK-NIR underwent a successful final design review, which endorsed the instrument for construction and future implementation at LBT. We report here the final design of the instrument, which foresees two intermediate pupil planes and three focal planes to accomodate a certain number of coronagraphic techniques, selected to maximize the instrument contrast at various distances from the star. Exo-Planets search and characterization has been the science case driving the instrument design, but the SOUL upgrade of the LBT AO will increase the instrument performance in the faint end regime, allowing to do galactic (jets and disks) and extra-galactic (AGN and QSO) science on a relatively wide sample of targets, normally not reachable in other similar facilities.