A VIPA Spectrograph with Ultra-high Resolution and Wavelength Calibration for Astronomical Applications

A prototype spectrograph using a Virtually Imaged Phased Array (VIPA) as the main dispersion element is presented, and its performance is fully examined in our laboratory. The single-mode, fiber-fed spectrograph with simultaneous wavelength calibration possesses a spectral resolution well in excess of R approximate to 1.12 x 10(6) while the size of the VIPA is several orders of magnitude smaller than that of a conventional echelle with comparable resolution. In laboratory tests, the VIPA-based instrument with a homemade Yb:fiber ring laser frequency comb demonstrates a mode-to-mode tracking stability of 41 cm s(-1) over a period of 6 hr. The VIPA spectrograph has promising applications in various astronomical observations in which ultra-high resolution and calibration precision are imperative, such as solar physics research, exoplanet searching with the radial velocity method, and O-2 detection in the atmosphere of Earth-like planets. Ultimately, feasible optimizations for night-sky observations under seeing limited conditions are discussed.