HARPS3 and opportunities for RV follow-up of PLATO targets

HARPS3 could be a key tool in the radial velocity (RV) follow-up of PLATO planetary candidates. HARPS3 is an R≈115,000, fibre-fed, Echelle spectrograph with an operational wavelength range of 380–690 nm and a deployable/integrated, dual-beam, full-Stokes polarimeter. The spectrograph is designed to be able to detect ~Earth-mass exoplanets with orbital periods of 100+ days around G- and K-type stars and will utilise a robust series of stability measures in order to achieve an instrument stability of ∼ 10cm/s; enabling the study of lower mass planets than previous generation instruments. The spectrograph will be coupled to the upgraded and roboticized 2.54m Isaac Newton Telescope (INT), where up to 50% open-time is available on HARPS3. Furthermore, and of special note, an automated scheduler will enable flexible scheduling of observations, which will be interleaved with the rest of the night’s observations, enabling efficient observing strategies that maximise the use of an observers allocated telescope time. HARPS3 will also utilise a trusted and proven data-reduction pipeline for straightforward and reliable extraction of radial velocity data.

In this talk, we discuss the design, specifications and capabilities of HARPS3@INT and how these could provide favourable opportunities for RV follow-up of PLATO targets.