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The Near-InfraRed Planet Searcher or NIRPS is a precision radial velocity spectrograph developed through collaborative efforts among laboratories in Switzerland, Canada, Brazil, France, Portugal and Spain. NIRPS extends to the 0.98-1.8 $\mu$m domain of the pioneering HARPS instrument at the La Silla 3.6-m telescope in Chile and it has achieved unparalleled precision, measuring stellar radial velocities in the infrared with accuracy better than 1 m/s. NIRPS can be used either stand-alone or simultaneously with HARPS. Commissioned in late 2022 and early 2023, NIRPS embarked on a 5-year Guaranteed Time Observation (GTO) program in April 2023, spanning 720 observing nights. This program focuses on planetary systems around M dwarfs, encompassing both the immediate solar vicinity and transit follow-ups, alongside transit and emission spectroscopy observations. We highlight NIRPS's current performances and the insights gained during its deployment at the telescope. The lessons learned and successes achieved contribute to the ongoing advancement of precision radial velocity measurements and high spectral fidelity, further solidifying NIRPS' role in the forefront of the field of exoplanets., Comment: Proceeding at the SPIE Astronomical Telescopes + Instrumentation conference [Yokohama,Japan; June 2024]

The two-planet transiting system LHS 1140 has been extensively observed since its discovery in 2017, notably with $Spitzer$, HST, TESS, and ESPRESSO, placing strong constraints on the parameters of the M4.5 host star and its small temperate exoplanets, LHS 1140 b and c. Here, we reanalyse the ESPRESSO observations of LHS 1140 with the novel line-by-line framework designed to fully exploit the radial velocity content of a stellar spectrum while being resilient to outlier measurements. The improved radial velocities, combined with updated stellar parameters, consolidate our knowledge on the mass of LHS 1140 b (5.60$\pm$0.19 M$_{\oplus}$) and LHS 1140 c (1.91$\pm$0.06 M$_{\oplus}$) with unprecedented precision of 3%. Transits from $Spitzer$, HST, and TESS are jointly analysed for the first time, allowing us to refine the planetary radii of b (1.730$\pm$0.025 R$_{\oplus}$) and c (1.272$\pm$0.026 R$_{\oplus}$). Stellar abundance measurements of refractory elements (Fe, Mg and Si) obtained with NIRPS are used to constrain the internal structure of LHS 1140 b. This planet is unlikely to be a rocky super-Earth as previously reported, but rather a mini-Neptune with a $\sim$0.1% H/He envelope by mass or a water world with a water-mass fraction between 9 and 19% depending on the atmospheric composition and relative abundance of Fe and Mg. While the mini-Neptune case would not be habitable, a water-abundant LHS 1140 b potentially has habitable surface conditions according to 3D global climate models, suggesting liquid water at the substellar point for atmospheres with relatively low CO$_2$ concentration, from Earth-like to a few bars., Comment: 31 pages, 18 figures, accepted for publication in ApJL

Improved miniaturization capabilities for complex fisheye camera systems have recently led to the introduction of many compact 360-degree cameras on the consumer technology market. Designed primarily for recreational photography, several manufacturers have decided to allow users access to raw imagery for further editing flexibility, thereby offering data at sensor level that can be directly exploited for absolute-light quantification. In this study, we demonstrate methodologies to carefully calibrate a consumer-grade 360-degree camera for radiometry use. The methods include linearity analysis, geometric calibration, assessment of the illumination fall-off across the image plane, spectral-response determination, absolute spectral-radiance calibration, immersion factor determination and dark-frame analysis. Accuracy of the calibration was validated by a real-world experiment comparing sky radiance measurements with a co-localized Compact Optical Profiling System (C-OPS, Biospherical Instruments Inc.), which gave mean unbiased percentage differences of less than 21.1 %. Using the photon-transfer technique, we calculated that this camera consisting of two fisheyes with a 182$^\circ$ field of view in air (152$^\circ$ in water) has a limit of detection of at least $4.6 \times 10^{-7}$ $\mathrm{W \cdot sr^{-1} \cdot m^{-2} \cdot nm^{-1}}$ in its three spectral channels. This technology, with properly stored calibration data, may benefit researchers from multiple scientific areas interested in radiometric geometric light-field study. While some of these radiometric calibration methods are complex or costly, this work opens up possibilities for easy-to-use, inexpensive, and accessible radiance cameras.

Most camera lens systems are designed in isolation, separately from downstream computer vision methods. Recently, joint optimization approaches that design lenses alongside other components of the image acquisition and processing pipeline -- notably, downstream neural networks -- have achieved improved imaging quality or better performance on vision tasks. However, these existing methods optimize only a subset of lens parameters and cannot optimize glass materials given their categorical nature. In this work, we develop a differentiable spherical lens simulation model that accurately captures geometrical aberrations. We propose an optimization strategy to address the challenges of lens design -- notorious for non-convex loss function landscapes and many manufacturing constraints -- that are exacerbated in joint optimization tasks. Specifically, we introduce quantized continuous glass variables to facilitate the optimization and selection of glass materials in an end-to-end design context, and couple this with carefully designed constraints to support manufacturability. In automotive object detection, we report improved detection performance over existing designs even when simplifying designs to two- or three-element lenses, despite significantly degrading the image quality., Comment: 15 pages, 12 figures, to appear in CVPR 2023 proceedings, updated to reflect camera-ready submission

We propose a new method for integrating metasurfaces in optical design using semi-analytical modelling of dielectric nanostructures. The latter computes the output phase of an electric field incident on the metasurface, allowing their use with ray-tracing software. This tool provides a method to use metasurfaces in optical systems while using built-in optimization processes to avoid time-consuming computation. To demonstrate the applicability and versatility of our method, we present variations of a triplet composed of refractive elements and a metasurface. For each of the systems, similar optical performances are achieved. Our unique and innovative approach to joining metasurfaces and ray tracing has the potential to promote the design of innovative systems by exploiting the richness of metasurfaces and the functionality of conventional lens design software.

We present an overview of SITELLE, an Imaging Fourier Transform Spectrometer (iFTS) available at the 3.6-meter Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope. SITELLE is a Michelson-type interferometer able to reconstruct the spectrum of every light source within its 11' field of view in filter-selected bands of the visible (350 to 900 nm). The spectral resolution can be adjusted up to R = 10 000 and the spatial resolution is seeing-limited and sampled at 0.32 arcsec per pixel. We describe the design of the instrument as well as the data reduction and analysis process. To illustrate SITELLE's capabilities, we present some of the data obtained during and since the August 2015 commissioning run. In particular, we demonstrate its ability to separate the components of the [OII] $\lambda\lambda$ 3726,29 doublet in Orion and to reach R = 9500 around H-alpha; to detect diffuse emission at a level of 4 x 10e-17 erg/cm2/s/arcsec2; to obtain integrated spectra of stellar absorption lines in galaxies despite the well-known multiplex disadvantage of the iFTS; and to detect emission-line galaxies at different redshifts., Comment: 19 pages, 22 figures, submitted to MNRAS

(Abridged) This is the Maunakea Spectroscopic Explorer 2018 book. It is intended as a concise reference guide to all aspects of the scientific and technical design of MSE, for the international astronomy and engineering communities, and related agencies. The current version is a status report of MSE's science goals and their practical implementation, following the System Conceptual Design Review, held in January 2018. MSE is a planned 10-m class, wide-field, optical and near-infrared facility, designed to enable transformative science, while filling a critical missing gap in the emerging international network of large-scale astronomical facilities. MSE is completely dedicated to multi-object spectroscopy of samples of between thousands and millions of astrophysical objects. It will lead the world in this arena, due to its unique design capabilities: it will boast a large (11.25 m) aperture and wide (1.52 sq. degree) field of view; it will have the capabilities to observe at a wide range of spectral resolutions, from R2500 to R40,000, with massive multiplexing (4332 spectra per exposure, with all spectral resolutions available at all times), and an on-target observing efficiency of more than 80%. MSE will unveil the composition and dynamics of the faint Universe and is designed to excel at precision studies of faint astrophysical phenomena. It will also provide critical follow-up for multi-wavelength imaging surveys, such as those of the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope, Gaia, Euclid, the Wide Field Infrared Survey Telescope, the Square Kilometre Array, and the Next Generation Very Large Array., Comment: 5 chapters, 160 pages, 107 figures

The Gemini Infrared Multi-Object Spectrograph (GIRMOS) is a powerful new instrument being built to facility-class standards for the Gemini telescope. It takes advantage of the latest developments in adaptive optics and integral field spectrographs. GIRMOS will carry out simultaneous high-angular-resolution, spatially-resolved infrared ($1-2.4$ $\mu$m) spectroscopy of four objects within a two-arcminute field-of-regard by taking advantage of multi-object adaptive optics. This capability does not currently exist anywhere in the world and therefore offers significant scientific gains over a very broad range of topics in astronomical research. For example, current programs for high redshift galaxies are pushing the limits of what is possible with infrared spectroscopy at $8-10$-meter class facilities by requiring up to several nights of observing time per target. Therefore, the observation of multiple objects simultaneously with adaptive optics is absolutely necessary to make effective use of telescope time and obtain statistically significant samples for high redshift science. With an expected commissioning date of 2023, GIRMOS's capabilities will also make it a key followup instrument for the James Webb Space Telescope when it is launched in 2021, as well as a true scientific and technical pathfinder for future Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT) multi-object spectroscopic instrumentation. In this paper, we will present an overview of this instrument's capabilities and overall architecture. We also highlight how this instrument lays the ground work for a future TMT early-light instrument., Comment: Corrected typos

Biological evolution provides a creative fount of complex and subtle adaptations, often surprising the scientists who discover them. However, because evolution is an algorithmic process that transcends the substrate in which it occurs, evolution's creativity is not limited to nature. Indeed, many researchers in the field of digital evolution have observed their evolving algorithms and organisms subverting their intentions, exposing unrecognized bugs in their code, producing unexpected adaptations, or exhibiting outcomes uncannily convergent with ones in nature. Such stories routinely reveal creativity by evolution in these digital worlds, but they rarely fit into the standard scientific narrative. Instead they are often treated as mere obstacles to be overcome, rather than results that warrant study in their own right. The stories themselves are traded among researchers through oral tradition, but that mode of information transmission is inefficient and prone to error and outright loss. Moreover, the fact that these stories tend to be shared only among practitioners means that many natural scientists do not realize how interesting and lifelike digital organisms are and how natural their evolution can be. To our knowledge, no collection of such anecdotes has been published before. This paper is the crowd-sourced product of researchers in the fields of artificial life and evolutionary computation who have provided first-hand accounts of such cases. It thus serves as a written, fact-checked collection of scientifically important and even entertaining stories. In doing so we also present here substantial evidence that the existence and importance of evolutionary surprises extends beyond the natural world, and may indeed be a universal property of all complex evolving systems.

We present the integration status for `imaka, the ground-layer adaptive optics (GLAO) system on the University of Hawaii 2.2-meter telescope on Maunakea, Hawaii. This wide-field GLAO pathfinder system exploits Maunakea's highly confined ground layer and weak free-atmosphere to push the corrected field of view to ~1/3 of a degree, an areal field approaching an order of magnitude larger than any existing or planned GLAO system, with a FWHM ~ 0.33 arcseconds in the visible and near infrared. We discuss the unique design aspects of the instrument, the driving science cases and how they impact the system, and how we will demonstrate these cases on the sky., Comment: 9 pages, 5 figures

The Gemini Planet Imager (GPI) is a complex optical system designed to directly detect the self-emission of young planets within two arcseconds of their host stars. After suppressing the starlight with an advanced AO system and apodized coronagraph, the dominant residual contamination in the focal plane are speckles from the atmosphere and optical surfaces. Since speckles are diffractive in nature their positions in the field are strongly wavelength dependent, while an actual companion planet will remain at fixed separation. By comparing multiple images at different wavelengths taken simultaneously, we can freeze the speckle pattern and extract the planet light adding an order of magnitude of contrast. To achieve a bandpass of 20%, sufficient to perform speckle suppression, and to observe the entire two arcsecond field of view at diffraction limited sampling, we designed and built an integral field spectrograph with extremely low wavefront error and almost no chromatic aberration. The spectrograph is fully cryogenic and operates in the wavelength range 1 to 2.4 microns with five selectable filters. A prism is used to produce a spectral resolution of 45 in the primary detection band and maintain high throughput. Based on the OSIRIS spectrograph at Keck, we selected to use a lenslet-based spectrograph to achieve an rms wavefront error of approximately 25 nm. Over 36,000 spectra are taken simultaneously and reassembled into image cubes that have roughly 192x192 spatial elements and contain between 11 and 20 spectral channels. The primary dispersion prism can be replaced with a Wollaston prism for dual polarization measurements. The spectrograph also has a pupil-viewing mode for alignment and calibration., Comment: 13 pages, 10 figures. Proceedings of the SPIE, 9147-55

SPIRou is a near-IR \'echelle spectropolarimeter and high-precision velocimeter under construction as a next-generation instrument for the Canada-France-Hawaii-Telescope. It is designed to cover a very wide simultaneous near-IR spectral range (0.98-2.35 {\mu}m) at a resolving power of 73.5K, providing unpolarized and polarized spectra of low-mass stars at a radial velocity (RV) precision of 1m/s. The main science goals of SPIRou are the detection of habitable super-Earths around low-mass stars and the study of how critically magnetic fields impact star / planet formation. Following a successful final design review in Spring 2014, SPIRou is now under construction and is scheduled to see first light in late 2017. We present an overview of key aspects of SPIRou's optical and mechanical design., Comment: Presented at SPIE Astronomical Telescopes + Instrumentation 2014