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With this work we summarise the design evolution and challenges of the Fiber-Link module for ANDES (ArmazoNes high Dispersion Echelle Spectrograph), the high resolution spectrograph for ESO ELT. The instrument just passed the System Architecture Review of Phase-B1. The Fiber-Link subsystem carries and redistributes the light from the telescope to the spectrometers via several selectable optical paths. The general updated layout for the Fiber-Link module is presented giving element characteristics and obtained performances. First results from laboratory test and prototype activities are also shown. Moreover, we include the reasoning for selected solutions and explaining how requirements are met. Finally, we summarise the compliance against the science top-level requirements and the issues to address moving forward.

The first generation of ELT instruments includes an optical-infrared high resolution spectrograph, indicated as ELT-HIRES and recently christened ANDES (ArmazoNes high Dispersion Echelle Spectrograph). ANDES consists of three fibre-fed spectrographs ([U]BV, RIZ, YJH) providing a spectral resolution of similar to 100,000 with a minimum simultaneous wavelength coverage of 0.4-1.8 mu m with the goal of extending it to 0.35-2.4 mu m with the addition of an U arm to the BV spectrograph and a separate K band spectrograph. It operates both in seeing- and diffraction-limited conditions and the fibre-feeding allows several, interchangeable observing modes including a single conjugated adaptive optics module and a small diffraction-limited integral field unit in the NIR. Modularity and fibre-feeding allows ANDES to be placed partly on the ELT Nasmyth platform and partly in the Coude room. ANDES has a wide range of groundbreaking science cases spanning nearly all areas of research in astrophysics and even fundamental physics. Among the top science cases there are the detection of biosignatures from exoplanet atmospheres, finding the fingerprints of the first generation of stars, tests on the stability of Nature's fundamental couplings, and the direct detection of the cosmic acceleration. The ANDES project is carried forward by a large international consortium, composed of 35 Institutes from 13 countries, forming a team of almost 300 scientists and engineers which include the majority of the scientific and technical expertise in the field that can be found in ESO member states.

The ESO/ELT ANDES (ArmazoNes high Dispersion Echelle Spectrograph) project successfully completed the system architecture review and is currently finalizing its preliminary design phase. ANDES is the high-resolution spectrograph for the ELT (ESO Extremely Large Telescope) capable of reaching a resolution of R ~ 100,000 simultaneously, in a wavelength range between 0.35 -2.4 µm (goals included), characterized by high-precision and extreme calibration accuracy suitable to address a variety of flagship scientific cases across a wide range of astronomical domains. To fulfill the required specifications the proposed design adopts a modular approach where the instrument is split in four individual spectrographs, each fiber-fed, and thermally and vacuum stabilized. A dedicated front-end which host a single conjugated adaptive optics module, collects either the light from the telescope or from a calibration unit feeding in turn the individual spectrographs. To master the described complexity the same modularity is reflected also at the project management level: each of the 9 subsystems (counting also the software as a standalone subsystem) is under direct responsibility of different teams coordinated by the ANDES project office. The high distribution and the large community involvement, consisting of 24 institutes from 13 countries, represent certainly a challenge from the project management point of view. In this paper we present the project management approach we envisaged to master successfully all the ANDES project phases from the finalization of the preliminary design up to commissioning on-sky; in particular we will describe in detail the risk management and PA/QA activities we have foreseen to assure appropriate risk mitigation and an overall high-quality standard required for the ANDES project.

The dayside atmospheres of ultra-hot Jupiters (UHJs) are predicted to possess temperature inversion layers with extremely high temperatures at high altitudes. We observed the dayside thermal emission spectra of WASP-18b and WASP-76b with the new CRIRES+ high-resolution spectrograph at near-infrared wavelengths. Using the cross-correlation technique, we detected strong CO emission lines in both planets, which confirms the existence of temperature inversions on their dayside hemispheres. The two planets are the first UHJs orbiting F-type stars with CO emission lines detected; previous detections were mostly for UHJs orbiting A-type stars. Evidence of weak H2O emission signals is also found for both planets. We further applied forward-model retrievals on the detected CO lines and retrieved the temperature-pressure profiles along with the CO volume mixing ratios. The retrieved logarithmic CO mixing ratio of WASP-18b (-2.2(-1.5)(+1.4)) is slightly higher than the value predicted by the self-consistent model assuming solar abundance. For WASP-76b, the retrieved CO mixing ratio (-3.6(-1.6)(+1.8)) is broadly consistent with the value of solar abundance. In addition, we included the equatorial rotation velocity (upsilon(eq)) in the retrieval when analyzing the line profile broadening. The obtained upsilon(eq) is 7.0 +/- 2.9 km s(-1) for WASP-18b and 5.2(-3.0)(+2.5) km s(-1) for WASP-76b, which are consistent with the tidally locked rotational velocities.

The CRyogenic InfraRed Echelle Spectrograph (CRIRES) Upgrade project CRIRES+ extended the capabilities of CRIRES. It transformed this VLT instrument into a cross-dispersed spectrograph to increase the wavelength range that is covered simultaneously by up to a factor of ten. In addition, a new detector focal plane array of three Hawaii 2RG detectors with a 5.3 mu m cutoff wavelength replaced the existing detectors. Amongst many other improvements, a new spectropolarimetric unit was added and the calibration system has been enhanced. The instrument was installed at the VLT on Unit Telescope 3 at the beginning of 2020 and successfully commissioned and verified for science operations during 2021, partly remotely from Europe due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The instrument was subsequently offered to the community from October 2021 onwards. This article describes the performance and capabilities of the upgraded instrument and presents on sky results.

Aims: We aim to characterise the small-scale magnetic fields of a sample of 16 Sun-like stars and investigate the capabilities of the newly upgraded near-infrared (NIR) instrument CRIRES+ at the Very Large Telescope in the context of small-scale magnetic field studies. Our targets also had their magnetic fields studied with optical spectra, which allowed us to compare magnetic field properties at different spatial scales on the stellar surface and to contrast small-scale magnetic field measurements at different wavelengths.

Methods: We analysed the Zeeman broadening signature for six magnetically sensitive and insensitive Fe I lines in the H-band to measure small-scale magnetic fields on the stellar surfaces of our sample. We used polarised radiative transfer modelling and non-local thermodynamic equilibrium departure coefficients in combination with Markov chain Monte Carlo sampling to determine magnetic field characteristics and non-magnetic stellar parameters. We used two different approaches to describe the small-scale magnetic fields. The first is a two-component model with a single magnetic region and a free magnetic field strength. The second model contains multiple magnetic components with fixed magnetic field strengths.

Results: We found average magnetic field strengths ranging from & SIM;0.4 kG down to < 0.1 kG. The results align closely with other results from high-resolution NIR spectrographs, such as SPIRou. It appears that the typical magnetic field strength in the magnetic region is slightly stronger than 1.3 kG, and for most stars in our sample, this strength is between 1 and 2 kG. We also found that the small-scale fields correlate with the large-scale fields and that the small-scale fields are at least ten times stronger than the large-scale fields inferred with Zeeman Doppler imaging. The two- and multi-component models produce systematically different results, as the strong fields from the multi-component model increase the obtained mean magnetic field strength. When comparing our results with the optical measurements of small-scale fields, we found a systematic offset two to three times stronger than fields in the optical results. This discrepancy cannot be explained by uncertainties in stellar parameters. Care should therefore be taken when comparing results obtained at different wavelengths until a clear cause can be established.

At the end of 2021, the ESO council approved the start of the construction phase for a High Resolution Spectrograph for the ELT, formerly known as ELT-HIRES, renamed recently as ANDES (ArmazoNes high Dispersion Echelle Spectrograph). The current initial schedule foresees a 9-years development aimed to bring the instrument on-sky soon after the first-generation ELT instruments. ANDES combines high spectral resolution (up to 100,000), wide spectral range (0.4 mu m to 1.8 mu m with a goal from 0.35 mu m to 2.4 mu m) and extreme stability in wavelength calibration accuracy (better than 0.02 m/s rms over a 10-year period in a selected wavelength range) with massive optical collecting power of the ELT thus enabling to achieve possible breakthrough groundbreaking scientific discoveries. The main science cases cover a possible detection of life signatures in exoplanets, the study of the stability of Nature's physical constants along the universe lifetime and a first direct measurement of the cosmic acceleration. The reference design of this instrument in its extended version (with goals included) foresees 4 spectrographic modules fed by fibers, operating in seeing and diffraction limited (adaptive optics assisted) mode carried out by an international consortium composed by 24 institutes from 13 countries which poses big challenges in several areas. In this paper we will describe the approach we intend to pursue to master management and system engineering aspects of this challenging instrument focused mainly on the preliminary design phase, but looking also ahead towards its final construction.

The first generation of ELT instruments includes an optical-infrared high resolution spectrograph, indicated as ELT-HIRES and recently christened ANDES (ArmazoNes high Dispersion Echelle Spectrograph). ANDES consists of three fibre-fed spectrographs (UBV, RIZ, YJH) providing a spectral resolution of similar to 100,000 with a minimum simultaneous wavelength coverage of 0.4-1.8 mu m with the goal of extending it to 0.35-2.4 mu m with the addition of a K band spectrograph. It operates both in seeing- and diffraction-limited conditions and the fibre-feeding allows several, interchangeable observing modes including a single conjugated adaptive optics module and a small diffraction-limited integral field unit in the NIR. Its modularity will ensure that ANDES can be placed entirely on the ELT Nasmyth platform, if enough mass and volume is available, or partly in the Coude room. ANDES has a wide range of groundbreaking science cases spanning nearly all areas of research in astrophysics and even fundamental physics. Among the top science cases there are the detection of biosignatures from exoplanet atmospheres, finding the fingerprints of the first generation of stars, tests on the stability of Nature's fundamental couplings, and the direct detection of the cosmic acceleration. The ANDES project is carried forward by a large international consortium, composed of 35 Institutes from 13 countries, forming a team of more than 200 scientists and engineers which represent the majority of the scientific and technical expertise in the field among ESO member states.

CRIRES+ extended the capabilities of CRIRES, the CRyogenic InfraRed Echelle Spectrograph. It transformed this VLT instrument into a cross-dispersed spectrograph to increase the wavelength range that is covered simultaneously by a factor of ten. In addition, a new detector focal plane array of three Hawaii 2RG detectors with a 5.3 mu m cut-off wavelength replaced the existing detectors. Amongst many other improvements a new spectropolarimetric unit was added and the calibration system has been enhanced. The instrument was installed at the VLT on Unit Telescope 3 beginning of 2020 and successfully commissioned and verified for science operations during 2021, partly remote from Europe due to the pandemic. The instrument was subsequently offered to the community from October 2021 onwards. This article describes the performance and capabilities of this development and presents on sky results.

This paper presents an overview of the current status of the Virtual Atomic and Molecular Data Centre (VAMDC) e-infrastructure, including the current status of the VAMDC-connected (or to be connected) databases, updates on the latest technological development within the infrastructure and a presentation of some application tools that make use of the VAMDC e-infrastructure. We analyse the past 10 years of VAMDC development and operation, and assess their impact both on the field of atomic and molecular (A&M) physics itself and on heterogeneous data management in international cooperation. The highly sophisticated VAMDC infrastructure and the related databases developed over this long term make them a perfect resource of sustainable data for future applications in many fields of research. However, we also discuss the current limitations that prevent VAMDC from becoming the main publishing platform and the main source of A&M data for user communities, and present possible solutions under investigation by the consortium. Several user application examples are presented, illustrating the benefits of VAMDC in current research applications, which often need the A&M data from more than one database. Finally, we present our vision for the future of VAMDC.