Optical fiber modal noise in the 0.8 to 1.5 micron region and implications for near infrared precision radial velocity measurements

Keegan S. McCoy; Lawrence Ramsey; Suvrath Mahadevan; Samuel Halverson; Stephen L. Redman

doi:10.1117/12.926287

24 September 2012 Optical fiber modal noise in the 0.8 to 1.5 micron region and implications for near infrared precision radial velocity measurements

Keegan S. McCoy, Lawrence Ramsey, Suvrath Mahadevan, Samuel Halverson, Stephen L. Redman

Author Affiliations +

Proceedings Volume 8446, Ground-based and Airborne Instrumentation for Astronomy IV; 84468J (2012) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.926287
Event: SPIE Astronomical Telescopes + Instrumentation, 2012, Amsterdam, Netherlands

Abstract

Modal noise in fibers has been shown to limit the signal-to-noise ratio achievable in fiber-coupled, high-resolution spectrographs if it is not mitigated via modal scrambling techniques. Modal noise become significantly more important as the wavelength increases and presents a risk to the new generation of near-infrared precision radial spectrographs under construction or being proposed to search for planets around cool M-dwarf stars, which emit most of their light in the NIR. We present experimental results of tests at Penn State University characterizing modal noise in the far visible out to 1.5 microns and the degree of modal scrambling we obtained using mechanical scramblers. These efforts are part of a risk mitigation effort for the Habitable Zone Planet Finder spectrograph currently under development at Penn State University.

Citation Download Citation

Keegan S. McCoy, Lawrence Ramsey, Suvrath Mahadevan, Samuel Halverson, and Stephen L. Redman "Optical fiber modal noise in the 0.8 to 1.5 micron region and implications for near infrared precision radial velocity measurements", Proc. SPIE 8446, Ground-based and Airborne Instrumentation for Astronomy IV, 84468J (24 September 2012); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.926287

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