Phase II of the Keck Planet Imager and characterizer: system-level laboratory characterization and preliminary on-sky commissioning

Abstract

The Keck Planet Imager and Characterizer (KPIC) is a series of upgrades for the Keck II Adaptive Optics system and the NIRSPEC spectrograph to enable diffraction-limited, high-resolution (R>30,000) spectroscopy in the K and L bands. KPIC’s use of single-mode fibers provides a substantial reduction in sky background as well as an extremely stable line-spread function. In this paper we present the results of extensive system-level laboratory testing and characterization of Phase II of the instrument and each of its modes. We also show early on-sky results from the first few months of commissioning with these upgrades along with the next steps for the instrument.