The GMT-Consortium Large Earth Finder (G-CLEF) is the very first light instrument of the Giant Magellan Telescope (GMT). The G-CLEF is a fiber feed, optical band echelle spectrograph that is capable of extremely precise radial velocity measurement. KASI (Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute) is responsible for Flexure Control Camera (FCC) included in the G-CLEF Front End Assembly (GCFEA). The FCC is a kind of guide camera, which monitors the field images focused on a fiber mirror to control the flexure and the focus errors within the GCFEA. The FCC consists of five optical components: a collimator including triple lenses for producing a pupil, neutral density filters allowing us to use much brighter star as a target or a guide, a tent prism as a focus analyzer for measuring the focus offset at the fiber mirror, a reimaging camera with three pair of lenses for focusing the beam on a CCD focal plane, and a CCD detector for capturing the image on the fiber mirror. In this article, we present the optical and mechanical FCC designs which have been modified after the PDR in April 2015.

Stellar activity may induce Doppler variability at the level of a few m s(-1) which can then be confused by the Doppler signal of an exoplanet orbiting the star. To first order, linear correlations between radial velocity measurements and activity indices have been proposed to account for any such correlation. The likely presence of two super-Earths orbiting Kapteyn's star was reported in Anglada-Escude et al., but this claim was recently challenged by Robertson et al., who argued for evidence of a rotation period (143 days) at three times the orbital period of one of the proposed planets (Kapteyn's b, P = 48.6 days) and the existence of strong linear correlations between its Doppler signal and activity data. By re-analyzing the data using global statistics and model comparison, we show that such a claim is incorrect given that (1) the choice of a rotation period at 143 days is unjustified, and (2) the presence of linear correlations is not supported by the data. We conclude that the radial velocity signals of Kapteyn's star remain more simply explained by the presence of two super-Earth candidates orbiting it. We note that analysis of time series of activity indices must be executed with the same care as Doppler time series. We also advocate for the use of global optimization procedures and objective arguments, instead of claims based on residual analyses which are prone to biases and incorrect interpretations.

High-resolution spectroscopic observations were taken of 29 extended main-sequence turnoff (eMSTO) stars in the young (similar to 200 Myr) Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) cluster, NGC 1866, using the Michigan/Magellan Fiber System and MSpec spectrograph on the Magellan-Clay 6.5 m telescope. These spectra reveal the first direct detection of rapidly rotating stars whose presence has only been inferred from photometric studies. The eMSTO stars exhibit Ha emission (indicative of Be-star decretion disks), others have shallow broad H alpha absorption (consistent with rotation. greater than or similar to 150 km s(-1)), or deep Ha core absorption signaling lower rotation velocities (less than or similar to 150 km s(-1)). The spectra appear consistent with two populations of stars-one rapidly rotating, and the other, younger and slowly rotating.

The GMT-Consortium Large Earth Finder (G-CLEF) is an instrument that is being designed to exceed the state-of-the-art radial velocity (RV) precision achievable with the current generation of stellar velocimeters. It is simultaneously being designed to enable a wide range of scientific programs, prominently by operating to blue wavelengths (> 3500 angstrom). G-CLEF will be the first light facility instrument on the Giant Magellan Telescope (GMT) when the GMT is commissioned in 2023. G-CLEF is a fiber-fed, vacuum-enclosed spectrograph with an asymmetric white pupil echelle design. We discuss several innovative structural, optical and control system features that differentiate G-CLEF from previous precision RV instruments.

The GMT-Consortium Large Earth Finder (G-CLEF) will be part of the first generation instrumentation suite for the Giant Magellan Telescope (GMT). G-CLEF is a general purpose echelle spectrograph operating in the optical passband with precision radial velocity (PRV) capability. The measurement precision goal of G-CLEF is 10 cm/sec; necessary for the detection of Earth analogues. This goal imposes challenging stability requirements on the optical mounts and spectrograph support structures especially when considering the instrument's operational environment. G-CLEF's accuracy will be influenced by changes in temperature and ambient air pressure, vibration, and micro gravity-vector variations caused by normal telescope motions. For these reasons we have chosen to enclose G-CLEF's spectrograph in a well-insulated, vibration-isolated vacuum chamber in a gravity invariant location on GMT's azimuth platform. Additional design constraints posed by the GMT telescope include; a limited space envelope, a thermal leakage ceiling, and a maximum weight allowance. Other factors, such as manufacturability, serviceability, available technology, and budget are also significant design drivers.

The GMT-Consortium Large Earth Finder (G-CLEF) is one of the first instrument for the Giant Magellan Telescope (GMT). The G-CLEF is a fiber fed, optical band echelle spectrograph that is capable of extremely precise radial velocity measurement. The G-CLEF Flexure Control Camera (FCC) is included as a part in the G-CLEF Front End Assembly (GCFEA), which monitors the field images focused on a fiber mirror to control the flexure and the focus errors within the GCFEA. The five optical components constituting the FCC are aligned on a common optical bench. The order of the optical train is: a collimator, neutral density filters, a focus analyzer, a reimaging camera barrel, and a detector module. The collimator receives the beam reflected by the fiber mirror and consists of a triplet lens. The neutral density filters are located just after the collimator to make it possible a broad range star brightness as a target or a guide. The tent prism focus analyzer is positioned at a pupil produced by the collimator and is used to measure a focus offset. The reimaging camera barrel includes two pairs of doublet lenses to focus the beam onto the CCD focal plane. The detector module is composed of a linear translator and a field de-rotator. In this article, we present the optical and mechanical detailed designs of the G-CLEF FCC.

The GMT-Consortium Large Earth Finder (G-CLEF), one of the first light instruments for the Giant Magellan Telescope (GMT), is a fiber-fed, high-resolution echelle spectrograph. G-CLEF is expected to proceed towards fabrication in the coming months. In this paper, we present the current, pre-construction G-CLEF optical design, with an emphasis on the innovative features derived for the spectrograph fiber-feed, the implementation of a volume-phase holographic (VPH)-based cross disperser with enhanced blue throughput and our novel solutions for a multi-colored exposure meter and a flat-fielding system.

Barnard's star is a red dwarf, and has the largest proper motion (apparent motion across the sky) of all known stars. At a distance of 1.8 parsecs(1), it is the closest single star to the Sun; only the three stars in the alpha Centauri system are closer. Barnard's star is also among the least magnetically active red dwarfs known(2,3) and has an estimated age older than the Solar System. Its properties make it a prime target for planetary searches; various techniques with different sensitivity limits have been used previously, including radial-velocity imagine(4-6), astrometry(7,8 )and direct imaging(9), but all ultimately led to negative or null results. Here we combine numerous measurements from high-precision radial-velocity instruments, revealing the presence of a low-amplitude periodic signal with a period of 233 days. Independent photometric and spectroscopic monitoring, as well as an analysis of instrumental systematic effects, suggest that this signal is best explained as arising from a planetary companion. The candidate planet around Barnard's star is a cold super-Earth, with a minimum mass of 3.2 times that of Earth, orbiting near its snow line (the minimum distance from the star at which volatile compounds could condense). The combination of all radial-velocity datasets spanning 20 years of measurements additionally reveals a long-term modulation that could arise from a stellar magnetic-activity cycle or from a more distant planetary object. Because of its proximity to the Sun, the candidate planet has a maximum angular separation of 220 milliarcseconds from Barnard's star, making it an excellent target for direct imaging and astrometric observations in the future.

We report the first discovery of a multi-planetary system by the HATSouth network, HATS-59b,c, a planetary system with an inner transiting hot Jupiter and an outer cold massive giant planet, which was detected via radial velocity. The inner transiting planet, HATS-59b, is on an eccentric orbit with e = 0.129 +/- 0.049, orbiting a V = 13.951 +/- 0.030 mag solar-like star (M-star = 1.038 +/- 0.039 M-circle dot and R-star = 1.036 +/- 0.067 R-circle dot) with a period of 5.416081 +/- 0.000016 days. The outer companion, HATS-59c is on a circular orbit with m sin i = 12.70 +/- 0.87 M-J and a period of 1422 +/- 14 days. The inner planet has a mass of 0.806 +/- 0.069 M-J and a radius of 1.126 +/- 0.077 R-J, yielding a density of 0.70 +/- 0.16 g cm(-3). Unlike most planetary systems that include only a single hot Jupiter, HATS-59b, c includes, in addition to the transiting hot Jupiter, a massive outer companion. The architecture of this system is valuable for understanding planet migration.

We describe the design and performance of the near-infrared (1.51-1.70 mu m), fiber-fed, multi-object (300 fibers), high resolution (R = lambda/Delta lambda similar to 22,500) spectrograph built for the Apache Point Observatory Galactic Evolution Experiment (APOGEE). APOGEE is a survey of similar to 10(5) red giant stars that systematically sampled all Milky Way populations (bulge, disk, and halo) to study the Galaxy's chemical and kinematical history. It was part of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey III (SDSS-III) from 2011 to 2014 using the 2.5 m Sloan Foundation Telescope at Apache Point Observatory, New Mexico. The APOGEE-2 survey is now using the spectrograph as part of SDSS-IV, as well as a second spectrograph, a close copy of the first, operating at the 2.5 m du Pont Telescope at Las Campanas Observatory in Chile. Although several fiber-fed, multi-object, high resolution spectrographs have been built for visual wavelength spectroscopy, the APOGEE spectrograph is one of the first such instruments built for observations in the near-infrared. The instrument's successful development was enabled by several key innovations, including a "gang connector" to allow simultaneous connections of 300 fibers; hermetically sealed feedthroughs to allow fibers to pass through the cryostat wall continuously; the first cryogenically deployed mosaic volume phase holographic grating; and a large refractive camera that includes mono-crystalline silicon and fused silica elements with diameters as large as similar to 400 mm. This paper contains a comprehensive description of all aspects of the instrument including the fiber system, optics and opto-mechanics, detector arrays, mechanics and cryogenics, instrument control, calibration system, optical performance and stability, lessons learned, and design changes for the second instrument.