ESPRESSO: The next European exoplanet hunter (original) (raw)
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ESPRESSO on VLT: An Instrument for Exoplanet Research
Handbook of Exoplanets
ESPRESSO (Echelle SPectrograph for Rocky Exoplanets and Stable Spectroscopic Observations) is a VLT ultra-stable high resolution spectrograph that will be installed in Paranal Observatory in Chile at the end of 2017 and offered to the community by 2018. The spectrograph will be located at the Combined-Coudé Laboratory of the VLT and will be able to operate with one or (simultaneously) several of the four 8.2 m Unit Telescopes (UT) through four optical Coudé trains. Combining efficiency and extreme spectroscopic precision, ESPRESSO is expected to gaining about two magnitudes with respect to its predecessor HARPS. We aim at improving the instrumental radial-velocity precision to reach the 10 cm s −1 level, thus opening the possibility to explore new frontiers in the search for Earth-mass exoplanets in the habitable zone of quiet, nearby G to M-dwarfs. ESPRESSO will be certainly an important development step towards high-precision ultra-stable spectrographs on the next generation of giant telescopes such as the E-ELT.
PUCHEROS: a cost-effective solution for high-resolution spectroscopy with small telescopes
Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, 2012
We present PUCHEROS, the high-resolution echelle spectrograph, developed at the Center of Astro-Engineering of Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Chile to provide an effective tool for research and teaching of astronomy. The instrument is fed by a single-channel optical fibre and it covers the visible range from 390 to 730 nm in one shot, reaching a spectral resolution of about 20 000. In the era of extremely large telescopes our instrument aims to exploit the capabilities offered by small telescopes in a cost-effective way, covering the observing needs of a community of astronomers, in Chile and elsewhere, which do not necessarily need large collecting areas for their research. In particular the instrument is well suited for long-term spectroscopic monitoring of bright variable and transient targets down to a V magnitude of about 10. We describe the instrument and present a number of text case examples of observations obtained during commissioning and early science.
ESPRESSO: A High Resolution Spectrograph for the Combined Coudé Focus of the VLT
Astrophysics and Space Science Proceedings, 2009
In the frame of the call for proposal for the E-ELT instrumentation studies, the CODEX team carried out the feasibility study for a spectrograph for extremely stable Doppler measurements. The CODEX project and its scientific goals are described in . During the development of this study, the CODEX team recognized that a CODEX-like instrument would be of high scientific interest also on the VLT. The ESPRESSO concept was born. The contribution by J. Liske in this volume highlights the direct links between the two instruments (see also ).
ESPRESSO: the Echelle spectrograph for rocky exoplanets and stable spectroscopic observations
2010
ESPRESSO, the Echelle SPectrograph for Rocky Exoplanets and Stable Spectroscopic Observations, will combine the efficiency of modern echelle spectrograph design with extreme radial-velocity precision. It will be installed on ESO's VLT in order to achieve a gain of two magnitudes with respect to its predecessor HARPS, and the instrumental radialvelocity precision will be improved to reach cm/s level. Thanks to its characteristics and the ability of combining incoherently the light of 4 large telescopes, ESPRESSO will offer new possibilities in various fields of astronomy. The main scientific objectives will be the search and characterization of rocky exoplanets in the habitable zone of quiet, nearby G to M-dwarfs, and the analysis of the variability of fundamental physical constants. We will present the ambitious scientific objectives, the capabilities of ESPRESSO, and the technical solutions of this challenging project.
Future Prospects for Spectroscopy with Large and Small Telescopes
Galaxy Evolution: Connecting the Distant Universe with the Local Fossil Record, 1999
In the coming few years, more new telescopes with large aperture will become available for observations of stars in the Milky Way and in Local Group galaxies, and, increasingly, of stars in more distant galaxies. A wide range of new targets will come within reach not only from the increase of telescope aperture, but also from new technology which improves the performance goals of modern instrumentation. New technologies on the horizon will be explored to evaluate their impact on scientific programs in the future.
ESPRESSO: the Echelle spectrograph for rocky exoplanets and stable spectroscopic observations
Ground-based and Airborne Instrumentation for Astronomy III, 2010
The main scientific drivers for ESPRESSO are the search and characterisation of rocky exoplanets in the habitable zone of quiet, nearby G to M dwarf stars and the analysis of the variability of fundamental physical constants. As an ultrastable highresolution spectrograph however, ESPRESSO will allow new frontiers to be explored in most domains of astrophys ics. The project passed its final design review in May 2013 and has entered the manufacturing phase. ESPRESSO will be installed at the Paranal Observatory in 2016 and is planned to begin operations by the end of that year.
Data Analysis for Precision Spectroscopy: the ESPRESSO Case
2017
ESPRESSO is an extremely stable high-resolution spectrograph which is currently being developed for the ESO VLT. With its groundbreaking characteristics it is aimed to be a "science machine", i.e. a fully-integrated instrument to directly extract science information from the observations. In particular, ESPRESSO will be the first ESO instrument to be equipped with a dedicated tool for the analysis of data, the Data Analysis Software (DAS), consisting in a number of recipes to analyze both stellar and quasar spectra. Through the new ESO Reflex GUI, the DAS (which will implement new algorithms to analyze quasar spectra) is aimed to get over the shortcomings of the existing software providing multiple iteration modes and full interactivity with the data.
Spectroscopy and the Age of Giant Telescopes
Proceedings of Frank N. Bash Symposium 2011: New Horizons in Astronomy — PoS(Bash11)
Is your 4 meter telescope just not cutting it anymore? Embarrassed to mention the telescope time you had just the other week when talking about your newest data project? Don't worry, the age of the giant telescope is upon us. I will review the status of the three current ELT projects, as well as spectroscopic technologies focusing on multi-object spectroscopy. HETDEX (the Hobby Eberly Dark Energy Experiment) uses a new approach to large instruments, replicating a spectrograph channel 150 times to produce 33,600 individual spectra across a 22 arcminute field. The technology being built can be easily modified and ported to other telescopes to take quick advantage of the integral field approach. I will touch on the many experiments that await first light as these instruments come to fruition. Let's discuss why we are pouring massive resources into these telescopes and see what they can do for us.
Astronomy & Astrophysics, 2015
Context. The Public European Southern Observatory Spectroscopic Survey of Transient Objects (PESSTO) began as a public spectroscopic survey in April 2012. PESSTO classifies transients from publicly available sources and wide-field surveys, and selects science targets for detailed spectroscopic and photometric follow-up. PESSTO runs for nine months of the year, January-April and August-December inclusive, and typically has allocations of 10 nights per month. Aims. We describe the data reduction strategy and data products that are publicly available through the ESO archive as the Spectroscopic Survey data release 1 (SSDR1). Methods. PESSTO uses the New Technology Telescope with the instruments EFOSC2 and SOFI to provide optical and NIR spectroscopy and imaging. We target supernovae and optical transients brighter than 20.5 m for classification. Science targets are selected for follow-up based on the PESSTO science goal of extending knowledge of the extremes of the supernova population. We use standard EFOSC2 setups providing spectra with resolutions of 13-18 Å between 3345−9995 Å. A subset of the brighter science targets are selected for SOFI spectroscopy with the blue and red grisms (0.935−2.53 μm and resolutions 23−33 Å) and imaging with broadband JHK s filters. Results. This first data release (SSDR1) contains flux calibrated spectra from the first year (April 2012-2013). A total of 221 confirmed supernovae were classified, and we released calibrated optical spectra and classifications publicly within 24 h of the data being taken (via WISeREP). The data in SSDR1 replace those released spectra. They have more reliable and quantifiable flux calibrations, correction for telluric absorption, and are made available in standard ESO Phase 3 formats. We estimate the absolute accuracy of the flux calibrations for EFOSC2 across the whole survey in SSDR1 to be typically ∼15%, although a number of spectra will have less reliable absolute flux calibration because of weather and slit losses. Acquisition images for each spectrum are available which, in principle, can allow the user to refine the absolute flux calibration. The standard NIR reduction process does not produce high accuracy absolute spectrophotometry but synthetic photometry with accompanying JHK s imaging can improve this. Whenever possible, reduced SOFI images are provided to allow this. Conclusions. Future data releases will focus on improving the automated flux calibration of the data products. The rapid turnaround between discovery and classification and access to reliable pipeline processed data products has allowed early science papers in the first few months of the survey.
ESPRESSO — An Echelle SPectrograph for Rocky Exoplanets Search and Stable Spectroscopic Observations
2013
The main scientific drivers for ESPRESSO are the search and characterisation of rocky exoplanets in the habitable zone of quiet, nearby G to M dwarf stars and the analysis of the variability of fundamental physical constants. As an ultrastable highresolution spectrograph however, ESPRESSO will allow new frontiers to be explored in most domains of astrophys ics. The project passed its final design review in May 2013 and has entered the manufacturing phase. ESPRESSO will be installed at the Paranal Observatory in 2016 and is planned to begin operations by the end of that year.