Title: NIST Develops Portable Frequency Combs for Astronomical Spectrograph Calibration
Summary:
Researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have developed portable laser frequency combs that can be used to calibrate astronomical spectrographs in situ. These combs provide a precise, uniform calibration spectrum with absolute accuracy traceable to the SI second, enabling high-precision measurements crucial for detecting exoplanets.
The Doppler radial velocity (RV) technique, which measures tiny shifts in starlight caused by orbiting planets, has been used to discover many exoplanets. However, reducing systematic uncertainties to detect Earth-like planets remains challenging. NIST’s frequency combs offer a solution by providing a broad bandwidth, precisely tunable calibration spectrum that can improve measurement precision to 1 cm/s RV or 3×10−11 fractional accuracy.
The development of these portable frequency combs has the potential to contribute to the search for exoplanets by enabling more precise astronomical spectroscopy measurements. By providing a precise calibration spectrum traceable to the SI second, these combs could help reduce systematic uncertainties in Doppler radial velocity measurements and aid in the detection of Earth-analog planets.
Source: https://www.nist.gov/programs-projects/frequency-comb-calibration-astronomical-spectrographs
Keywords: Spectrographs, Combs, Precision, Metrology, Accuracy
