Design of a stable fixed delay interferometer prototype for the ET project

Suvrath Mahadevan; Jian Ge; Curtis DeWitt; Julian C. van Eyken; Gerald Friedman

doi:10.1117/12.550447

30 September 2004 Design of a stable fixed delay interferometer prototype for the ET project

Suvrath Mahadevan, Jian Ge, Curtis DeWitt, Julian C. van Eyken, Gerald Friedman

Proceedings Volume 5492, Ground-based Instrumentation for Astronomy; (2004) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.550447
Event: SPIE Astronomical Telescopes + Instrumentation, 2004, Glasgow, United Kingdom

Abstract

The ET instrument being developed at Penn State is a novel approach that is capable of precision radial velocity measurements using a modest resolution. A prototype version of this instrument is now set up permanently at the Kitt Peak 2.1m telescope and has recovered the radial velocity curve of 51 Peg. The stability of the Michelson interferometer used in the setup is very crucial to obtain accurate velocity results. In this paper we discuss the issues associated with field widening and temperature compensation over a wide wavelength range and also describe the design of a prototype interferometer that meets these criteria. Our current prototype design built in the lab already outperforms our old interferometer over short time spans. A new interferometer based on the prototype will replace our current actively stabilized interferometer at Kitt Peak. The increased stability will enable us to start our planet search program in 2005, and to observe targets suitable for asteroseismology.

Citation Download Citation

Suvrath Mahadevan, Jian Ge, Curtis DeWitt, Julian C. van Eyken, and Gerald Friedman "Design of a stable fixed delay interferometer prototype for the ET project", Proc. SPIE 5492, Ground-based Instrumentation for Astronomy, (30 September 2004); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.550447

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