Astronomical instrumentation, precise spectrographs

Astronomical instrumentation is a paramount for obtaining of extremely precise spectroscopic data for various astrophysical disciplines. Especially, spectrographs capable of precisions around or better than 1 m/s in radial velocities which can be kept over long time scales will be needed in the upcoming era of PLATO and ARIEL space missions.

The proposed thesis project aims at preparing of a concept of a precise spectrograph which would be capable of a follow-up of small planets of Super Earth-sizes. The first step would be the upgrade of the OES spectrograph in Ondřejov which is currently funded and the work will start in 2025. In the second stage an improvement measures in precision such as Fabry Perot calibration or other projects would be proposed and implemented for a prototype study or for a working spectrograph PLATOSpec in Chile. Another expected contribution would consist of participation in the development of the hardware for the ANDES spectrograph for ELT, ESO telescope, if Czech Republic joins the project.

Hardware Development: The project work would consist of working on studies for new instrument concepts with optical team at the TOPTEC center and with partners at Pontifica Universidad Catolica in Chile and Thueringer Landessternwarte Tautenburg, Germany.

Data Analysis: The candidate would need to master the spectroscopic data analysis, especially, with focus on high precision. Therefore, the idoine cell, the Fabry Perot etalon and other calibration processes and methods will be needed for the data analysis.

Scientific Goal: Pushing the limits of the precision of radial velocities to enable the follow-up of small rocky planets. Furthermore, characterisation of the exoatmospheres with the newly developed instrumentation is also foreseen.

Literature:

[1] Kabath et al., 2020, PASP, 132, 1009, 035002, 12 https://arxiv.org/pdf/2001.01001
[2] Vanzi et al. 2018, MNRAS, 477, 4, 5041, https://arxiv.org/abs/1804.07441