Bulletin of the American Physical Society
APS April Meeting 2011
Volume 56, Number 4
Saturday–Tuesday, April 30–May 3 2011; Anaheim, California
Session L4: High Precision Spectroscopy |
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Sponsoring Units: DAP Chair: Blayne Heckel, University of Washington Room: Garden 4 |
Sunday, May 1, 2011 3:30PM - 4:06PM |
L4.00001: Searches for extra-solar Earths with astro-combs, why and how Invited Speaker: Searches for Earth-like extra-solar planets using the precision radial velocity (PRV) technique requires $<$10 cm/s accuracy on stellar RVs, which is $\sim $10 times smaller than the current sensitivity, over several years. Astro-combs, a combination of an octave spanning femtosecond laser and a mode-filtering cavity, provide a promising route to increased accuracy and long-term stability on the astrophysical spectrograph calibration. Here I present several techniques to achieve the required calibration accuracy and our calibration results on the TRES spectrograph for a 1.5-m telescope at the Whipple Observatory. [Preview Abstract] |
Sunday, May 1, 2011 4:06PM - 4:42PM |
L4.00002: Astrophysical Tests of the Nature of Dark Matter, the Expansion of the Universe, and Evolving Physical Constants Invited Speaker: Progress made over the past decade in high precision astronomical spectroscopy has been principally motivated by the rapid growth in the study of exoplanets. However, these, and envisioned, gains can also be applied to new avenues of research that could have profound implications on our understanding of basic physics. I will begin by reviewing the current status of astronomical investigations of claimed variations in fundamental physical constants, describe where technical developments are heading, and close by describing tests of gravity/dark matter and the basic model of cosmological expansion that might occur over the next decade or two. [Preview Abstract] |
Sunday, May 1, 2011 4:42PM - 5:18PM |
L4.00003: Stellar radial velocities using a laser frequency comb: Application and observations in the near infrared Invited Speaker: The laser frequency comb presents the potential for a revolutionary increase in radial velocity precision by providing a calibration reference of unprecedented quality in terms of wavelength knowledge, repeatability, number, density, and regularity of lines. However, implementation has proven challenging, particularly in the near infrared. Nevertheless, with the right combination of comb and instrument, promising first steps have been taken, allowing for the derivation of stellar radial velocities in a wavelength range which is well suited to the observation of M dwarfs. These stars, with low mass and low luminosity, are the most prevalent class of stars within 10 parsecs and can be expected to yield a higher reflex velocity for a terrestrial mass planet in the liquid water habitable zone than would be the case with a more massive star such as our own. We present the design and both laboratory and on-sky performance of an H-band laser frequency comb used in conjunction with the Penn State Pathfinder testbed spectrograph and discuss lessons learned and plans for follow on testing with both the Pathfinder and the CSHELL instruments. [Preview Abstract] |
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