The evolution of PUCHEROS from a basic to a competitive tool for stellar astrophysics
Luca Antonucci, Leonardo Vanzi, Abner Zapata, Mauricio Flores, Angelica Suarez, Rafael Brahm, Tzu Shen, Manuel Parra, Rafael Ormazabal, Gerardo Avila, Petr Kabath, Artie Hatzes, Pavol Gajdos, Marek Skarka, Jiri Zak, Petra Odert, Jozef Liptak, Robert Greimel, Martin Leitzinger
Published: 2025/8/29
Abstract
We present PUCHEROS +, a new spectrograph developed as an enhanced version of PUCHEROS (Pontificia Universidad Catolica High Echelle Resolution Optical Spectrograph), which was the first high-resolution spectrograph built at the Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Chile (UC). With respect to its predecessor, PUCHEROS + includes a substantial number of improvements, mainly: a new scientific detector, improved objective optics, calibration system, guiding, active thermal control, and remote observing mode. These upgrades convert our early prototype into a much more powerful instrument for science. With a spectral resolution of R = 18000, a spectral range between 400 and 730 nm and an instrument efficiency of about 30 per cent, PUCHEROS + was tested at the ESO (European Southern Observatory) 1.52-m telescope where it has reached a limiting magnitude of about 12 in V band and radial velocity precision of about 30 m/s. The instrument was conceived as a pathfinder for the high-resolution echelle spectrograph PLATOSpec and at the same time, it demonstrates that a compact, relatively low-cost spectrograph can be efficiently employed for long-term monitoring campaigns and as support facility for space missions, in particular if operated remotely at relatively small- or medium-sized telescopes.