Paper 13100-221
Paper 13100-221
A space-based laser-frequency comb for absolute cross-calibration of EPRV spectrographs
On demand | Presented live 20 June 2024 
Abstract
The accuracy of state-of-the-art EPRV spectrographs depends on the access to extremely precise and stable wavelength calibration sources. There are several available calibration sources (e.g., emission lamps, laser frequency combs, reference cavities) that can be used to calibrate an astronomical spectrograph. However, the calibration as it is currently performed is always 'local'. In the proposed talk we will present the νANCESTOR concept that proposes an accurate (absolute) and common wavelength calibration for astronomical high-resolution, high-precision spectrographs by embarking an optical frequency comb on-board a satellite equipped with an actively pointing telescope and precision orbitography. This calibration satellite shall be available and serve EPRV spectrographs in *all* major observatories around the world.
Presenter
Observatoire de Genève (Switzerland)
Francesco Pepe is a professor at the University of Geneva and the current director of its Astronomy Department. He studied physics at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich and specialised in the construction of instrumentation for astronomy during his doctorate at the same institution. It was through a scientific collaboration with the Geneva Observatory (Astronomy Department of the University of Geneva) that Francesco Pepe arrived in Geneva in 1998, where he was immediately “enrolled" by Michel Mayor to lead the construction of a new generation high precision spectrograph (HARPS) for the search for exoplanets with masses similar to our Earth. Since then, he has actively contributed to subsequent discoveries and the development of new instruments (HARPS-x, PRIMA, ESPRESSO) and techniques that are used nowadays not only for detection but also for the study of the composition and the atmosphere of extra-solar planets.
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