Design of HERMES, a high-resolution fiber-fed spectrograph for the Mercator Telescope

HERMES is a high-resolution fiber-fed echelle spectrograph combining high throughput with high instrumental stability. The optical design is based on a large R2.7 echelle grating, operating in quasi-Littrow and white-pupil configuration, using a double-prism cross-disperser. It records the complete spectrum from 380 to 900 nm in a single exposure on a monolithic 2kx4.5k pixels CCD. HERMES offers 1) a high-resolution and high-efficiency observation mode through a 80-mu m optical fiber (2.5 arcsec sky aperture) equipped with a two-slice image slicer, resulting in a resolution of lambda/Delta lambda = 85000 and a peak-efficiency higher than 25%; and 2) a high-stability mode through a 60-mu m fiber (2.15 aresec sky aperture, R = 55000) equipped with a double fiber scrambler for improved spectrograph illumination stability. The latter mode is intended for high-precision radial velocity measurements and it offers the possibility of recording the spectrum of a wavelength calibration lamp simultaneously and interlaced with the stellar spectrum for precise tracking of instrumental drifts. To optimize instrumental stability, the spectrograph will be housed in a temperature and pressure controlled chamber, and it will operate in one fixed optical configuration. This instrument has a wide astronomical scope, going from asteroseismology to binary star research and chemical studies of stars and circumstellar material. HERMES is currently under construction and will be mounted on the 1.2-meter Mercator Telescope at the Roque de Los Muchachos Observatory on La Palma.