Spectral Analysis of Atmospheres by Nulling Interferometry

Total Page:16

File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb

Spectral Analysis of Atmospheres by Nulling Interferometry Molecules in the Atmospheres of Extrasolar Planets ASP Conference Series, Vol. 450 J-P. Beaulieu, S. Dieters, and G. Tinetti, eds. c 2011 Astronomical Society of the Pacific Spectral Analysis of Atmospheres by Nulling Interferometry M. Ollivier and S. Jacquinod Institut d’Astrophysique Spatiale - Université de Paris-Sud 11 and CNRS (UMR 8617) Abstract. Nulling interferometry has often been considered as one of the most promising techniques to get spectra, in the thermal infrared spectral range, of exo- planet and particularly telluric ones. The required performance, in terms of nulling depth, spectral bandwidth and stability begins to be achievable in the laboratory. How- ever, concrete observatory projects have strong difficulties to emerge in space agencies programs, because of mission requirements complexity. In this paper, I present the per- formance various scientific objectives need and the state of the art of this technique, including mission aspects. I finally propose elements that could help defining a first space mission project. 1. Nulling Interferometry : Theoretical Aspects 1.1. Principle of Nulling Interferometry Nulling interferometry has been proposed in the late 70s as a possible technique to detect and spectroscopically characterize planets around nearby stars at wavelengths where diffraction prevents from the use of single aperture telescopes (Bracewell 1978). The principle of nulling interferometry in a 2-telescope configuration is described in figure 1 (left). The idea is to use two small telescopes, pointed in the direction of the star and to combine their beams. On the beam combiner the wavefronts from both star and planet create interferences. If we introduce a π phase-shift in one arm of the inter- ferometer, the stellar interference is destructive (the optical path difference is equal to zero). In the direction of the planet, and because of the angular distance to the pointing direction, the path difference is not equal to zero. Adjusting the distance D between the two telescopes, one can obtain that the path difference (D sin(θ)) introduces a phase- shift that compensates the instrumental one at the observatio× n wavelength. In that way, one gets a constructive interference in the direction of the planet. Thus, the distinction between the stellar and planetary photons is performed by their phase difference. The transmission map of such an instrument is shown in figure 1 (right). 1.2. Key Issues of Nulling Interferometry The main characteristics of a nulling interferometer are : - The depth of the null, i.e. the capability of the instrument to cancel the stellar light. This parameter is quantified by the rejection rate, which is the ratio between off-axis and on-axis transmission of the instrument (ratio between constructive 219 220 Ollivier and Jacquinod and destructive interference). The null depth is also characterize by the reverse of the rejection rate. - The chromatism of the null, i.e. the spectral range over which the rejection rate is performed, - The stability of the null, i.e. the rms amplitude of rejection rate fluctuation, as a fraction of the rejection rate. Figure 1. (left) : principle of nulling interferometer. See the text for description, (right) : transmission map of a two-telescope nulling interferometer The depth of the null directly leads to the level of stellar background that will be seen during the stellar companion observation, and as a consequence to the limiting contrast of the astronomical scene. The chromatism of the null conditions the spectral range and the spectral width of the observation, and as a consequence, the amount of photons that can be used for detection or spectral analysis. The stability of the null conditions directly the noise level of the signal and the ability or not to disentangle the stellar leaks from the companion signal itself. Getting an optimal null requires a perfect matching of the wavefronts to be recom- bined. For instance, in the case of a 2-telescope interferometer, requirements can be given in terms of : - amplitude : If I0 is the intensity of each beam on the beam combiner and δI is their intensity mismatch, then the rejection rate ρ can be computed as, 2 Imax I (2 + δI) 2I √1 + δI δI ρ = = 0 − 0 (1) Imin 4I0 ≃ 16 - phase : if δφ is the phase mismatch between the wavefronts on the beam com- biner, then the rejection rate can be computed as I 2I + 2I cos(π + δφ) δφ2 ρ = max = 0 0 (2) Imin 4I0 ≃ 4 Spectral Analysis with Nulling Interferometry 221 - polarization : polarization effects are more complex to described. They have be studied by many authors in many contexts (see for instance Chazelas et al. 2006). In order to monitor and control the amplitude, phase, and polarization effects, a nulling interferometer is usually made of several optical devices : - optics for beams transportation, - a fine relative angle sensor and associated correcting actuators, - optical delay lines to equalize the optical path difference between the beams at the level of a few nanometers, - an achromatic phase shifter device to cancel the stellar light at every wavelength, - a differential beam intensity matcher, - a differential beam polarization matcher, - optical filtering stages, - a beam combination stage, - a detection stage. 1.3. From Optical Principle to Observatory Concepts The intitial concept of Bracewell has been developed particularly in the thermal infrared spectral range, to take into account the specificities of telluric planets detection : - the size of the planet : the radius distribution of telluric exoplanet has to be de- termined because the planet size (and thus the signal level) is a strong constraint on the size of collecting apertures; - the angular distance from the planet to the star, varying with time (position of the planet on its orbit, relative inclination of the orbit plane with respect to the observer ... ); - low level signal from the planet, typically several tens of photons per second and square metre in the [6-20 µm] spectral range for an earthlike planet at 10 pc; - presence of zodiacal emission in the solar system : in the thermal infrared, the contribution of our zodiacal cloud is several hundred times higher than the ther- mal emission of the Earth; - presence of a zodiacal cloud around the exo-system : at present the level of exo- zodiacal level is not known for nearby stars, but has to be estimated because it is one of the dimensioning parameters for a characterization mission either in the visible or in the thermal infrared spectral range; - instrumental noise associated to the instrument temperature : in the thermal in- frared, the level of the integrated local zodiacal emission and the thermal emis- sion of the instrument reachs several hundred to thousand times the level of the signal to be detected; 222 Ollivier and Jacquinod - the level of stellar leaks : taking into account the way beams are combined, the mean stellar leaks can reach 10 to 100 times the signal level. A trade-off between this level of stellar leaks and the beam combiner complexity has to be found. Figure 2. Principle of the EMMA concept of nulling interferometer. The tele- scopes are located on the parabola and the beam combiner is put at the focus (source : NASA-JPL) All these constraints lead to concepts with several telescopes : - free floating in space (formation flying) in order to allow a fast configuration of the array with respect to target distances and sources characteristics (distance to the star, position on the orbit ... ); rigid (deployable) structures with telescopes on fixed length beams are not considered any longer because of their lack of versatility; - increasing the size of the nulled transmission area on the sky (Angel et al. 1986; Rouan 2003) and the mean depth of the null : this point is particularly important to reduce the level of stellar leaks, taking into accound the non-zero size of the stellar disk. - allowing the creation of sub arrays and partial beam combination between sub- arrays (Mennesson et al. 2005), - internal modulation between sub-arrays, allowing fast planetary signal modula- tion and lock-in detection at a frequency much higher than frequency allowed by only rotation of the whole array (Mennesson et al. 2005; Absil et al. 2003). This point allows disentangling the planetary signal (non centro-symmetric signal with respect to the pointing direction) and the exo-zodiacal background (centro symmetric with respect to the pointing direction). Present mission concepts are nammed TPF-I at NASA (Coulter 2003; Lawson et al. 2007) and DARWIN at Spectral Analysis with Nulling Interferometry 223 ESA (Karlsson & Kaltenegger 2003). The are both based on the EMMA concept (telescopes located on a parabola, with the beam combiner at the focus see figure 2. This concept is a good trade-off between many constraints and requirements (optical and thermal aspects, baseline versatility, imaging capabilities ... ) Whatever the configuration of the array and the beam combination method can be, the signal reaching the detector array is the sum of many contributions : the signal from the planet(s)(modulated), the mean stellar leaks (not mudulated), the mean exo zodiacal light contribution (not modulated because of clever interferometer configuration), the solar system mean zodiacal light contribution (not mudulated), the fluctuation of stellar leaks linked to the instrument stability and asymmetry of the astronomical source (vari- able contribution, that can be considered as noise), the variable contribution of the exo zodiacal light (linked to the cloud asymmetry, modulated by the internal modulation), and other sources of noise (thermal, instrumental and detection noises) that affect all the components mentioned previouly. Huge data processing is thus required to disentangle all the contaminants from the planetary signal itself. Complex algorithms that take into account the spectral nature of the signal and multi baseline information have been pro- posed in that purpose (Mugnier et al. 2006).
Recommended publications
  • Technology Development for Future Sparse Aperture Telescopes and Interferometers in Space
    A Technology Whitepaper submitted to the 2010 Decadal Survey Technology Development for Future Sparse Aperture Telescopes and Interferometers in Space 24 March 2009 NASA Centers: GSFC: Kenneth G. Carpenter, Keith Gendreau, Jesse Leitner, Richard Lyon, Eric Stoneking MSFC: H. Philip Stahl Industrial Partners: Aurora Flight Systems: Joe Parrish LMATC: Carolus J. Schrijver, Robert Woodruff NGST – Amy Lo, Chuck Lillie Seabrook Engineering: David Mozurkewich University/Astronomical Institute Partners: College de France: Antoine Labeyrie MIT: David Miller NOAO: Ken Mighell SAO: Margarita Karovska, James Phillips STScI: Ronald J. Allen UCO/Boulder: Webster Cash Abstract We describe the major technology development efforts that need to occur throughout the 2010 decade in order to enable a wide variety of sparse aperture and interferometric missions in the following decade. These missions are critical to achieving the next major revolution in astronomical observations by dramatically increasing the achievable angular resolution by more than 2 orders of magnitude, over wavelengths stretching from the x-ray and ultraviolet into the infrared and sub-mm. These observations can only be provided by long-baseline interferometers or sparse aperture telescopes in space, since the aperture diameters required are in excess of 500m - a regime in which monolithic or segmented designs are not and will not be feasible - and since they require observations at wavelengths not accessible from the ground. The technology developments needed for these missions are challenging, but eminently feasible with a reasonable investment over the next decade to enable flight in the 2025+ timeframe. That investment would enable tremendous gains in our understanding of the structure of the Universe and of its individual components in ways both anticipated and unimaginable today.
    [Show full text]
  • Exoplanet Community Report
    JPL Publication 09‐3 Exoplanet Community Report Edited by: P. R. Lawson, W. A. Traub and S. C. Unwin National Aeronautics and Space Administration Jet Propulsion Laboratory California Institute of Technology Pasadena, California March 2009 The work described in this publication was performed at a number of organizations, including the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, under a contract with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). Publication was provided by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Compiling and publication support was provided by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology under a contract with NASA. Reference herein to any specific commercial product, process, or service by trade name, trademark, manufacturer, or otherwise, does not constitute or imply its endorsement by the United States Government, or the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology. © 2009. All rights reserved. The exoplanet community’s top priority is that a line of probe­class missions for exoplanets be established, leading to a flagship mission at the earliest opportunity. iii Contents 1 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY.................................................................................................................. 1 1.1 INTRODUCTION...............................................................................................................................................1 1.2 EXOPLANET FORUM 2008: THE PROCESS OF CONSENSUS BEGINS.....................................................2
    [Show full text]
  • OLLI Talk on Exoplanets
    OLLI SC211 SPACE EXPLORATION: THE SEARCH FOR LIFE BEYOND EARTH April 13, 2017 Michal Peri NASA Solar System Ambassador Exoplanet2 Detection • Methods • Missions • Discoveries • Resources Image: C. Pulliam & D. Aguilar/CfA A long history … in our imaginations 3 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giordano_Bruno#/media/File:Relief_Bruno_Campo_dei_Fiori_n1.jpg Giordano Bruno in his De l'infinito universo et mondi (1584) suggested that "stars are other suns with their own planets” that “have no less virtue nor a nature different to that of our earth" and, like Earth, "contain animals and inhabitants.” For this heresy, he was burned by the inquisition. 3 https://www.loc.gov/today/cyberlc/feature_wdesc.php?rec=7148 5 Detection Methods Radial Velocity 619 planets Gravitational Microlensing 44 planets Direct Imaging 44 planets Transit 2771 planets Velocity generates Doppler 7 Shift Sound star receding star approaching Light wave “stretched” → red shift wave “squashed” → blue shift Orbiting planet causes Doppler shift in starlight 8 https://exoplanets.nasa.gov/interactable/11/ Radial Velocity Method 9 • The most successful method of detecting exoplanets pre-2010 • Doppler shifts in the stellar spectrum reveal presence of planetary companion(s) • Measure lower limit of the planetary mass and orbital parameters Doppler Shift Time Nikole K. Lewis, STScI Radial Velocity Detections Radial Velocity 1992 Planetary Mass 10 Detection Methods Radial Velocity 619 planets Gravitational Microlensing 44 planets Direct Imaging 44 planets Transit 2771 planets • Microlens
    [Show full text]
  • Interferometric Space Missions for Exoplanet Science: Legacy of Darwin/TPF
    Interferometric Space Missions for Exoplanet Science: Legacy of Darwin/TPF D. Defrere` 1, O. Absil1, and C. Beichman2 1 Space sciences, Technologies & Astrophysics Research (STAR) Institute, University of Liege, Liege, Belgium. 2 NASA Exoplanet Science Institute, California Institute of Technology, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Califor- nia, USA. Abstract DARWIN/TPF is a project of an infrared space-based interferometer designed to directly detect and charac- terize terrestrial exoplanets around nearby stars. Unlike spectro-photometric instruments observing planetary transits, an interferometer does not rely on any particular geometric constraints and could characterize exoplanets with any orbital configuration around nearby stars. The idea to use an infrared nulling interferometer to characterize exoplanets dates back to Bracewell(1978), and was extensively studied in the 1990s and 2000s by both ESA and NASA. The project focuses on the mid-infrared regime (5-20 mm), which provides access to key features of exoplanets, such as their size, their temperature, the presence of an atmosphere, their climate structure, as well as the presence of impor- tant atmospheric molecules such as H2O, CO2,O3, NH3, and CH4. This wavelength regime also provides a favorable planet/star contrast to detect the thermal emission of temperate (∼ 300 K) exoplanets (107 vs 1010 in the visible). In this chapter, we first review the scientific rationale of a mid-infrared nulling interferometer and present how it would provide an essential context for interpreting detections of possible biosignatures. Then, we present the main techno- logical challenges identified during the ESA and NASA studies, and how they have progressed over the last 10 years.
    [Show full text]
  • Infrared Direct Imaging
    Infrared Imaging of Exoplanets William C. Danchi January 5, 2012 ExoPAG #7 In 2009 we had the Exoplanet Community Report: The Infrared Chapter: DetecKng Earth-area Planets is Difficult and the Thermal Infrared is a Good Spectral Region . DetecKng light from planets beyond solar system is hard: – Earth sized planet emits few photons/sec/m2 at 10 μm – Parent star emits 106 more – Planet within 1 AU of star ~ 10-10 ~ 10-7 – Exozodi dust emission in target solar system x 300 brighter than earth-area planet for equiValent of ONE Solar System Zodi Earth Spectrum Peaks in the mid-IR Earth’s spectrum shows absorpKon features from many species, including ozone, nitrous oxide, water Vapor, carbon dioxide, and methane Biosignatures are molecules out of equilibrium such as oxygen, ozone, and methane or nitrous oxide. Spectroscopy with R ~ 50 is adequate to resolVe these features. Terrestrial Planet Finder Interferometer Salient Features • Formaon flying mid-IR nulling Interferometer • Starlight suppression to 10-5 • Heavy launch Vehicle • L2 baseline orbit • 5 year mission life (10 year goal) • PotenKal collaboraon with European Space Agency Science Goals • Detect as many as possible Earth-like planets in the habitable zone of nearby stars Via their thermal emission • Characterize physical properKes of detected Earth-like planets (size, orbital parameters, presence of atmosphere) and make low resoluKon spectral obserVaons looking for eVidence of a habitable planet and bio-markers such as O2, CO2, CH4 and H2O • Detect and characterize the components of nearby planetary systems including disks, terrestrial planets, giant planets and mulKple planet systems • Perform general astrophysics inVesKgaons as capability and Kme permit W.
    [Show full text]
  • The Fourier–Kelvin Stellar Interferometer (FKSI)
    C. R. Physique 8 (2007) 396–407 http://france.elsevier.com/direct/COMREN/ Optical techniques for direct imaging of exoplanets/Techniques optiques pour l’imagerie directe des exoplanètes The Fourier–Kelvin Stellar Interferometer (FKSI)—A practical infrared space interferometer on the path to the discovery and characterization of Earth-like planets around nearby stars a, b William C. Danchi ∗, Bruno Lopez a NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Exoplanets and Stellar Astrophysics, Code 667, Greenbelt, MD 20771, USA b Observatoire de la Côte d’Azur, UMR 6203, BP 4229, 06304 Nice cedex 4, France Available online 11 June 2007 Abstract During the last few years, considerable effort has been directed towards large-scale (>$1 billion USD) missions to detect and characterize Earth-like planets around nearby stars, such as the Terrestrial Planet Finder Interferometer (TPF-I) and Darwin mis- sions. However, technological issues such as formation flying, cryocooling, null depth for broadband signals, control of systematic noise sources, budgetary pressures, and shifting science priorities at NASA and ESA, will prevent these missions from entering Phase A until the middle of the next decade. A simplified nulling interferometer operating in the near- to mid-infrared (e.g. 3–8 microns), like the Fourier–Kelvin Stellar Interferometer (FKSI), can characterize the atmospheres of a large sample of the kno∼ wn planets. Many other scientific problems can be addressed with a system like FKSI, including the imaging of debris disks, active galactic nuclei, and low mass companions around nearby stars. We discuss the rationale, both scientific and technological, for a competed mission in the $450–600 million (USD) range, of which FKSI is an example.
    [Show full text]
  • Natural Moons Dynamics and Astrometry
    OBSERVATOIRE DE PARIS MEMOIRE D’HABILITATION A DIRIGER DES RECHERCES Présenté par Valéry LAINEY Natural moons dynamics and astrometry Soutenue le 29 mai 2017 Jury: Anne LEMAITRE (Rapporteur) François MIGNARD (Rapporteur) William FOLKNER (Rapporteur) Doris BREUER (Examinatrice) Athéna COUSTENIS (Examinatrice) Carl MURRAY (Examinateur) Francis NIMMO (Examinateur) Bruno SICARDY (Président) 2 Index Curriculum Vitae 5 Dossier de synthèse 11 Note d’accompagnement 31 Coordination d’équipes et de réseaux internationaux 31 Encadrement de thèses 34 Tâches de service 36 Enseignement 38 Résumé 41 Annexe 43 Lainey et al. 2007 : First numerical ephemerides of the Martian moons Lainey et al. 2009 : Strong tidal dissipation in Io and Jupiter from astrometric observations Lainey et al. 2012 : Strong Tidal Dissipation in Saturn and Constraints on Enceladus' Thermal State from Astrometry Lainey et al. 2017 : New constraints on Saturn's interior from Cassini astrometric data Lainey 2008 : A new dynamical model for the Uranian satellites 3 4 Curriculum Vitae Name: Valéry Lainey Address: IMCCE/Observatoire de Paris, 77 Avenue Denfert-Rochereau, 75014 Paris, France Email: [email protected]; Tel.: (+33) (0)1 40 51 22 69 Birth: 19/08/1974 Qualifications: Ph.D. Observatoire de Paris, December 2002 Title of thesis: “Théorie dynamique des satellites galiléens" Master degree “Astronomie fondamentale, mécanique céleste et géodésie” Observatoire de Paris 1998. Academic Career: Sep. 2006 - Present Astronomer at the Paris Observatory Apr. 2004 - Aug. 2006 Post-doc position at the Royal Observatory of Belgium Jun. 2003 - Mar. 2004 Post-doc position at the Paris Observatory Mar. - May 2003 Invited fellow at the Indian Institute of Astrophysics Dec. 2002 - Feb.
    [Show full text]
  • Final Program
    8–12 JANUARY 2018 KISSIMMEE, FL SEIZING THE NEXT DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION See what’s in Check pages 169-172 for details. scitech.aiaa.org #aiaaSciTech A CLEAR VISION FOR THE FUTURE. AT LOCKHEED MARTIN, WE’RE ENGINEERING A BETTER TOMORROW.® Lockheed Martn Skunk Works® has been a trusted partner in creatng revolutonary aircraf and technologies for nearly 75 years. It took a clear vision to produce the world’s fastest jet aircraf, frst producton stealth fghter and highest fying manned aircraf. And it’s that same vision that will allow Skunk Works to contnue developing the world’s most advanced aircraf well into the future. Learn more at lockheedmartn.com/skunkworks © 2017 LOCKHEED MARTIN CORPORATION Contents Contents ............................................................3 Please be advised that AIAA’s partner for our forums is no longer supporting the conference Organizing Committee ...................................4 app. The full program can be found online here: http://aiaa-mst18.abstractcentral.com/itin.jsp Welcome ...........................................................5 or by scanning the QR code. AIAA is currently investigating a new conference app for future Sponsors and Supporters ...............................6 forums and would like your feedback regarding tools you would like to see included in the app. Pre-Forum Activities .......................................7 AIAA staff will be in the HUB on Wednesday, 0930–1130 hrs, to gather feedback from attendees. Please join us. Forum Overview ...........................................
    [Show full text]
  • Super Earth Explorer : SEE - COAST
    Super Earth Explorer : SEE - COAST J. Schneider, P. Riaud, A. Boccaletti D. Mawet, G. Tinetti Observatoire de Paris & IAP - France Institut d’Astrophysique de Liege - Belgium A. Boccaletti In Spirit of Bernard Lyot, Berkeley, 2007 Cosmic Vision Cosmic Vision is the ESA roadmap for 2015-2025 - call for proposal in early 2007 - several mission class (Astrophysics, Solar System, Fundamental Physics) : - medium : < 300M€ - launch 2018 - large : < 650M€ - launch 2020 - xlarge : > 650M€ - launch >2020 (+ other space agencies) - proposal submission by June 2007 - down-selection by the end of 2007 (3 M missions out of 40) - assessment phase by ESA in 2008 - 2009 : 2M missions out of 3 - definition study 2009 - 2010 - 2011 : 1M mission out of 2 - launch (medium class) : 2018 Exoplanet proposals (main ones) : - Pegase (technology demonstrator, 2/3 spacecrafts) : medium class - PLATO (improved CoRoT) : medium class - DARWIN (4/5 spacecrafts) : xlarge => room/need for a scientific precursor to DARWIN : SEE-COAST A. Boccaletti In Spirit of Bernard Lyot, Berkeley, 2007 SEE - COAST management SEE-COAST stands for : Super Earth Explorer - Coronagraphic Off-Axis Space Telescope - a scientific precursor to DARWIN - a technological precursor to TPF-C PI : J. Schneider (Obs. Paris) A large European consortium : (France, Belgium, Switzerland, Italy, Nederland, UK, Germany) ULg / CSL / LESIA / LUTH / LUAN / ETH-Zurich / IAP / Obs. Geneva U. Bern / UCL / ROE / U. Hertfords. / MSSL / SRON / Astron / U. Utrecht LAOG / ONERA / DLR / U. Vienna / U. Nantes / U. Torino
    [Show full text]
  • Pegase: a Space-Based Nulling Interferometer
    Pegase: a space-based nulling interferometer a b b c c c c,g J.M. Le Duigou* , M. Ollivier , A. Léger , F. Cassaing , B. Sorrente , B. Fleury , G. Rousset , O. Absild, D. Mourarde, Y. Rabbiae, L. Escarrate, F. Malbetf, D. Rouang, R. Clédassoua, M. Delpecha, P. Duchona, B. Meyssignaca, P.-Y. Guidottia, N. Goriusa a Centre National d’Etudes Spatiale (CNES), b Institut d’Astrophysique Spatiale (IAS), c Office National d’Etudes et de Recherches Aéronautiques (ONERA), d Université de Liège, e Observatoire de la Côte d’Azur (OCA), f Laboratoire d’Astrophysique de l’Observatoire de Grenoble (LAOG), g Observatoire de Paris ABSTRACT The space based mission Pegase was proposed to CNES in the framework of its call for scientific proposals for formation flying missions. This paper presents a summary of the phase-0 performed in 2005. The main scientific goal is the spectroscopy of hot Jupiters (Pegasides) and brown dwarfs from 2.5 to 5 µm. The mission can extend to other objectives such as the exploration of the inner part of protoplanetary disks, the study of dust clouds around AGN,... The instrument is basically a two-aperture (D=40 cm) interferometer composed of three satellites, two siderostats and one beam- combiner. The formation is linear and orbits around L2, pointing in the anti-solar direction within a +/-30° cone. The baseline is adjustable from 50 to 500 m in both nulling and visibility measurement modes. The angular resolution ranges from 1 to 20 mas and the spectral resolution is 60. In the nulling mode, a 2.5 nm rms stability of the optical path difference (OPD) and a pointing stability of 30 mas rms impose a two level control architecture.
    [Show full text]
  • CERN - Data Acces, Visualisation & Analysis CERN | July 2017
    Exoplanets CERN - Data acces, Visualisation & Analysis CERN | July 2017 Damien Ségransan, University of Geneva and Geneva planet Search team The National Centres of Competence in Research (NCCR) are a research instrument of the Swiss National Science Foundation The National Centres of Competence in Research (NCCR) are a research instrument of the Swiss National Science Foundation 55 Cnc DACE aims at federating the European expertise in exoplanets’ research by providing an open access to all type of published (exo)planets data with dedicated visualisation, exchange and analysis tools. (Exo)planets related Data Access - Wide range of published Observational Data such as Radial Velocities and Transit Light Curves - Exoplanets Tables : exoplanets.org & exoplanet.eu - Theoretical data such as planet synthesis populations Visualisation & Statistical Online tools to compare, correlate and combine (Exo)planets data - Javascript visualisation library - Time series, images, correlation plots - Histograms, distribution parameters Direct access to state of the art data analysis tools The National Centres of Competence in Research (NCCR) are a research instrument of the Swiss National Science Foundation The National Centres of Competence in Research (NCCR) are a research instrument of the Swiss National Science Foundation The National Centres of Competence in Research (NCCR) are a research instrument of the Swiss National Science Foundation Principe: mesure du décalage Doppler - Jupiter-Soleil : 12 m/s - Saturne-Soleil: 3 m/s - Terre-Soleil : 8 cm/s The National Centres of Competence in Research (NCCR) are a research instrument of the Swiss National Science Foundation Observatoire de La 1ère planète extrasolaire : Haute-Provence 51 Pegase Tel. de 193 cm The National Centres of Competence in Research (NCCR) are a research instrument of the Swiss National Science Foundation Comment découvrir une nouvelle planète..
    [Show full text]
  • The ASTRONET Infrastructure Roadmap
    The ASTRONET Infrastructure Roadmap: A Strategic Plan for European Astronomy The ASTRONET Infrastructure Roadmap: A Strategic Plan for European Astronomy European for Plan A Strategic Roadmap: Infrastructure The ASTRONET The ASTRONET Infrastructure Roadmap This document has been created by the Infrastructure Roadmap Working Group and Panels under the auspices of ASTRONET, acting on behalf of the following member agencies: ARRS (SI), BMBF and PT-DESY (DE), IA CAS (CZ), CNRS/INSU (FR), DFG (DE), ESA (INT), ESO (INT), ESF (EE), FWF (AT), GNCA (GR), HAS (HU), SAS (SK), INAF (IT), LAS (LT), MICINN (ES), MPG (DE), NCBiR (PL), NOTSA (Nordic), NWO (NL), RSA (RO), SER (CH), SRC (SE), STFC (UK), UAS (UA). Editors: Michael F. Bode, Maria J. Cruz & Frank J. Molster ISBN: 978-3-923524-63-1 Acknowledgments: The ASTRONET project has been made possible via the generous support of the European Commission through Framework Programme 6. We gratefully acknowledge the tremendous amount of work that has been undertaken by the total of over 60 scientists and programme managers from across Europe who have given their time to the formulation of the Infrastructure Roadmap with dedication and enthusiasm. We acknowledge the help received from the ‘computergroep’ of the Leiden Observatory in setting up and hosting the web-based discussion forum. We also thank the Liverpool John Moores University Conference and Events team, Computing and Information Services department and the staff and students of the LJMU Astrophysics Research Institute who helped with the organisation and running of the Roadmap Symposium, and the astronomical community at large for their invaluable input to the whole process.
    [Show full text]