High resolution near infrared spectroscopy: Prospects for 10 and 40 m class telescopes

Abstract

The recent development of high sensitivity near infrared (NIR) spectrom-eters with high resolution (HR) capabilities is opening new windows in our understanding of several hot topics of modern astrophysics. This field is one of the youngest branches of astronomical research. Only few dedicated instruments are available worldwide, but with remarkably limited capabilities in terms of spectral coverage. In this paper we discuss some of the most important scientific applications of HR-NIR spectroscopy and present the design of a simple and very powerful instrument which can be easily adapted to existing 8–10 m class telescopes (e.g. VLT) and to future, larger facilities (e.g. ELT). The expected performances and limiting magnitudes are analyzed in quite some details.