A crucial test for astronomical spectrograph calibration with frequency combs

Laser frequency combs (LFCs) are well on their way to becoming the next-generation calibration sources for precision astronomical spectroscopy. This development is considered key in the hunt for low-mass rocky exoplanets around solar-type stars whose discovery with the radial-velocity method require...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:arXiv.org 2020-02
Main Authors: Probst, Rafael A, Milaković, Dinko, Toledo-Padrón, Borja, Gaspare Lo Curto, Avila, Gerardo, Brucalassi, Anna, Canto Martins, Bruno L, Izan de Castro Leão, Esposito, Massimiliano, González Hernández, Jonay I, Grupp, Frank, Hänsch, Theodor W, Kellermann, Hanna, Kerber, Florian, Mandel, Olaf, Manescau, Antonio, Pozna, Eszter, Rebolo, Rafael, de Medeiros, José Renan, Steinmetz, Tilo, Alejandro Suárez Mascareño, Udem, Thomas, Urrutia, Josefina, Wu, Yuanjie, Pasquini, Luca, Holzwarth, Ronald
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Astronomical spectroscopy
Calibration
Celestial bodies
Extrasolar planets
Spectrographs
Online Access:Get full text
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Summary:Laser frequency combs (LFCs) are well on their way to becoming the next-generation calibration sources for precision astronomical spectroscopy. This development is considered key in the hunt for low-mass rocky exoplanets around solar-type stars whose discovery with the radial-velocity method requires cm/s Doppler precision. In order to prove such precise calibration with an LFC, it must be compared to another calibrator of at least the same precision. Being the best available spectrograph calibrator, this means comparing it to a second - fully independent - LFC. This test had long been pending, but our installation of two LFCs at the ultra-stable spectrograph HARPS presented the so far unique opportunity for simultaneous calibrations with two separate LFCs. Although limited in time, the test results confirm the 1 cm/s stability that has long been anticipated by the astronomical community.
ISSN:2331-8422
DOI:10.48550/arxiv.2002.08868