Rubidium traced etalon wavelength calibrators: towards deployment at observatories

Christian Schwab; Tobias Feger; Julian Stürmer; Andreas Seifahrt; Yulia V. Gurevich; Dmytro Rogozin; Thorsten Führer; Samuel P. Halverson; Ryan C. Terrien; Thomas Legero; David W. Coutts; Gert Raskin; Thomas Walther; Jacob L. Bean; Andreas Quirrenbach

doi:10.1117/12.2314426

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9 July 2018 Rubidium traced etalon wavelength calibrators: towards deployment at observatories

Christian Schwab, Tobias Feger, Julian Stürmer, Andreas Seifahrt, Yulia V. Gurevich, Dmytro Rogozin, Thorsten Führer, Samuel P. Halverson, Ryan C. Terrien, Thomas Legero, David W. Coutts, Gert Raskin, Thomas Walther, Jacob L. Bean, Andreas Quirrenbach

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Proceedings Volume 10702, Ground-based and Airborne Instrumentation for Astronomy VII; 1070272 (2018) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2314426
Event: SPIE Astronomical Telescopes + Instrumentation, 2018, Austin, Texas, United States

Abstract

Precise wavelength calibration is a persistent problem for highest precision Doppler spectroscopy. The ideal calibrator provides an extremely stable spectrum of equidistant, narrow lines over a wide bandwidth, is reliable over timescales of years, and is simple to operate. Unlike traditional hollow cathode lamps, etalons provide an engineered spectrum with adjustable line distance and width and can cover a very broad spectral bandwidth. We have shown that laser locked etalons provide the necessary stability with an ideal spectral format for calibrating precision Echelle spectrographs, in a cost-effective and robust package. Anchoring the etalon spectrum to a very precisely known hyperfine transition of rubidium delivers cm/s-level stability over timescales of years. We have engineered a fieldable system which is currently being constructed as calibrator for the MAROON-X, HERMES, KPF, FIES and iLocater spectrographs.

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Christian Schwab, Tobias Feger, Julian Stürmer, Andreas Seifahrt, Yulia V. Gurevich, Dmytro Rogozin, Thorsten Führer, Samuel P. Halverson, Ryan C. Terrien, Thomas Legero, David W. Coutts, Gert Raskin, Thomas Walther, Jacob L. Bean, and Andreas Quirrenbach "Rubidium traced etalon wavelength calibrators: towards deployment at observatories", Proc. SPIE 10702, Ground-based and Airborne Instrumentation for Astronomy VII, 1070272 (9 July 2018); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2314426

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