Publications (15)
Stellar Spectroscopy in the Near-infrared with a Laser Frequency Comb
Andrew J. Metcalf, Tyler Anderson, Chad F. Bender +34
The discovery and characterization of exoplanets around nearby stars is driven by profound scientific questions about the uniqueness of Earth and our Solar System, and the conditio…
The Habitable-Zone Planet Finder: A Stabilized Fiber-Fed NIR Spectrograph for the Hobby-Eberly Telescope
Suvrath Mahadevan, Lawrence Ramsey, Chad Bender +12
We present the scientific motivation and conceptual design for the recently funded Habitable-zone Planet Finder (HPF), a stabilized fiber-fed near-infrared (NIR) spectrograph for t…
EarthFinder Probe Mission Concept Study: Characterizing nearby stellar exoplanet systems with Earth-mass analogs for future direct imaging
Peter Plavchan, Gautam Vasisht, Chas Beichman +52
EarthFinder is a NASA Astrophysics Probe mission concept selected for study as input to the 2020 Astrophysics National Academies Decadal Survey. The EarthFinder concept is based on…
A super-Earth and sub-Neptune transiting the late-type M dwarf LP 791-18
Ian J. M. Crossfield, William Waalkes, Elisabeth R. Newton +57
Planets occur most frequently around cool dwarfs, but only a handful of specific examples are known to orbit the latest-type M stars. Using TESS photometry, we report the discovery…
The need for single-mode fiber-fed spectrographs
Jonathan Crass, Andrew Bechter, Eric Bechter +12
Precise Doppler radial-velocity (RV) instruments will continue to play an essential role in advancing our holistic understanding of exoplanetary systems. The combination of orbital…
The Oxyometer: A Novel Instrument Concept for Characterizing Exoplanet Atmospheres
Ashley D. Baker, Cullen H. Blake, Sam Halverson
With TESS and ground-based surveys searching for rocky exoplanets around cooler, nearby stars, the number of Earth-sized exoplanets that are well-suited for atmospheric follow-up s…
Rubidium transitions as wavelength reference for astronomical Doppler spectrographs
Dmytro Rogozin, Tobias Feger, Christian Schwab +10
Precise wavelength calibration is a critical issue for high-resolution spectroscopic observations. The ideal calibration source should be able to provide a very stable and dense gr…
Enabling the next generation of scientific discoveries by embracing photonic technologies
Nemanja Jovanovic, Charles Beichman, Cullen Blake +46
The fields of Astronomy and Astrophysics are technology limited, where the advent and application of new technologies to astronomy usher in a flood of discoveries altering our unde…
EarthFinder: A Precise Radial Velocity Probe Mission Concept For the Detection of Earth-Mass Planets Orbiting Sun-like Stars
Peter Plavchan, Bryson Cale, Patrick Newman +40
EarthFinder is a Probe Mission concept selected for study by NASA for input to the 2020 astronomy decadal survey. This study is currently active and a final white paper report is d…
A close-in puffy Neptune with hidden friends: The enigma of TOI 620
Michael A. Reefe, Rafael Luque, Eric Gaidos +82
We present the validation of a transiting low-density exoplanet orbiting the M2.5 dwarf TOI 620 discovered by the NASA TESS mission. We utilize photometric data from both TESS and…
A Prograde, Low-Inclination Orbit for the Very Hot Jupiter WASP-3b
Anjali Tripathi, Joshua N. Winn, John Asher Johnson +9
We present new spectroscopic and photometric observations of the transiting exoplanetary system WASP-3. Spectra obtained during two separate transits exhibit the Rossiter-McLaughli…
Detectability of Terrestrial Planets in Multi-Planet Systems: Preliminary Report
Wesley A. Traub, Charles Beichman, Andrew F. Boden +21
We ask if Earth-like planets (terrestrial mass and habitable-zone orbit) can be detected in multi-planet systems, using astrometric and radial velocity observations. We report here…
Solar Contamination in Extreme Precision Radial Velocity Measurements: Deleterious Effects and Prospects for Mitigation
Arpita Roy, Sam Halverson, Suvrath Mahadevan +19
Solar contamination, due to moonlight and atmospheric scattering of sunlight, can cause systematic errors in stellar radial velocity (RV) measurements that significantly detract fr…
Towards Space-like Photometric Precision from the Ground with Beam-Shaping Diffusers
Gudmundur Stefansson, Suvrath Mahadevan, Leslie Hebb +21
We demonstrate a path to hitherto unachievable differential photometric precisions from the ground, both in the optical and near-infrared (NIR), using custom-fabricated beam-shapin…
The development of HISPEC for Keck and MODHIS for TMT: science cases and predicted sensitivities
Quinn M. Konopacky, Ashley D. Baker, Dimitri Mawet +72
HISPEC is a new, high-resolution near-infrared spectrograph being designed for the W.M. Keck II telescope. By offering single-shot, R=100,000 between 0.98 - 2.5 um, HISPEC will ena…