Sodium winds on Mercury

Solar radiation acceleration imparts anti-sunward velocities to sodium atoms in the Mercury exosphere. The Earthward-directed vectors of the Sun-accelerated atom velocities can be observed from Earth as small Doppler shifts, either added to, or subtracted from the Earth-Mercury Doppler shifts. We measured these small Doppler shifts using high resolution spectrographs capable of detecting sodium velocity differences as small as 0.1 km/s. We report here four sets of observations performed at different Mercury true anomaly angles. For these measurements, the spectrograph slit was oriented first east-west, and then north-south on the planet so as to get east-west and north-south transects of the velocities. The velocity patterns in east-west transects could be explained in terms of sodium flows outwards from the subsolar point, except for unexpectedly large Earthward velocities observed above the dawn terminator, which we interpreted to be the result of evaporation of sodium as the cold surface is heated by the rising Sun. North-south transects also showed a general pattern consistent with sodium flows outwards from the subsolar point. However, in all cases, the velocities were higher in one hemisphere relative to the other. For two cases, excess sodium emission was observed in the same hemisphere as the velocity excess. We interpreted these results to mean that there existed sources of sodium at high latitudes, which could appear in either hemisphere.     

Numerical simulations of a Mars geodesy network experiment: Effect of orbiter angular momentum desaturation on Mars' rotation estimation

The scientific objectives of a geodetic experiment based on a network of landers, such as NEIGE (NEtlander Ionosphere and Geodesy Experiment) are to improve the current knowledge of Mars' interior and atmosphere dynamics. Such a network science experiment allows monitoring the motions of the Martian rotation axis with a precision of a few centimeters (or milli-arc-seconds (mas)) over annual and sub-annual periods. Thereto, besides radio tracking of a Mars orbiter from the Earth, radio Doppler shifts between this orbiter and several landers at the planet's surface will be performed. From the analysis of these radio Doppler data, it is possible to reconstruct the orbiter motion and Mars' orientation in space. The errors on the orbit determination (position and velocity of the orbiter) have an impact on the geodetic parameters determination from the Doppler shifts and must be removed from the signal in order to achieve a high enough accuracy. In this paper, we perform numerical simulations of the two Doppler signals involved in such an experiment to estimate the impact of the spacecraft angular momentum desaturations on the determination of Mars' orientation variations. The attitude control of the orbiter needs such desaturation maneuvers regularly repeated. They produce velocity variations that must be taken into account when determining the orbit. For our simulations, we use a priori models of the Martian rotation and introduce the spacecraft velocity variations induced by each desaturation event. By a least-squares adjustment of the simulated Doppler signals, we then estimate the orbiter velocity variations and the parameters of the Mars' rotation model. We show that these velocity variations are ill resolved when the spacecraft is not tracked, therefore requiring a near-continuous tracking from the Earth to accurately determine the orbit. In such conditions we show that only 15- of lander-orbiter tracking per week allows recovering Mars' orientation parameters with a precision of a few mas over a period of 1 Martian year.     

Spectro‐polarimetry in the era of large solar telescopes

This paper discusses some of the challenges of spectro‐polarimetric observations with a large aperture solar telescope such as the ATST or the EST. The observer needs to reach a compromise between spatial and spectral resolution, time cadence, and signal‐to‐noise ratio, as only three of those four parameters can be pushed to the limit. Tunable filters and grating spectrographs provide a natural compromise as the former are more suitable for high‐spatial resolution observations while the latter are a better choice when one needs to work with many wavelengths at full spectral resolution. Given the requirements for the new science targeted by these facilities, it is important that 1) tunable filters have some multi‐wavelength capability; and 2) grating spectrographs have some 2D field of view (© 2010 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Stellar spectroscopy in ground-based ultraviolet. I: Observational technique

We present a historical note on the main spectroscopy instruments close to the short-wave boundary of the optical atmospheric window. Ground-based ultraviolet observations imposemore stringent requirements to the optics of telescopes and spectrographs, as well as to the calibration means. We have to bear in mind the seasonal variations of the optical properties of the Earth’s atmosphere. We consider the capabilities of ultraviolet observations with high spectral resolution on the 6-m BTA telescope of the Special Astrophysical Observatory of the Russian Academy of Sciences.     

Velocity and abundance precisions for future high‐resolution spectroscopic surveys: A study for 4MOST

In preparation for future, large‐scale, multi‐object, high‐resolution spectroscopic surveys of the Galaxy, we present a series of tests of the precision in radial velocity and chemical abundances that any such project can achieve at a 4 m class telescope. We briefly discuss a number of science cases that aim at studying the chemo‐dynamical history of the major Galactic components (bulge, thin and thick disks, and halo) – either as a follow‐up to the Gaia mission or on their own merits. Based on a large grid of synthetic spectra that cover the full range in stellar parameters of typical survey targets, we devise an optimal wavelength range and argue for a moderately high‐resolution spectrograph. As a result, the kinematic precision is not limited by any of these factors, but will practically only suffer from systematic effects, easily reaching uncertainties <1km s^–1. Under realistic survey conditions (namely, considering stars brighter than r = 16 mag with reasonable exposure times) we prefer an ideal resolving power of R ∼20 000 on average, for an overall wavelength range (with a common two‐arm spectrograph design) of [395;456.5] nm and [587;673] nm. We show for the first time on a general basis that it is possible to measure chemical abundance ratios to better than 0.1 dex for many species (Fe, Mg, Si, Ca, Ti, Na, Al, V, Cr, Mn, Co, Ni, Y, Ba, Nd, Eu) and to an accuracy of about 0.2 dex for other species such as Zr, La, and Sr. While our feasibility study was explicitly carried out for the 4MOST facility, the results can be readily applied to and used for any other conceptual design study for high‐resolution spectrographs. (© 2013 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Long‐slit échelle spectroscopy of galactic outflows: The case ofNGC 4449

At high redshift the ubiquity of outflows and winds in strongly star‐forming galaxies has been demonstrated using rest frame UV absorption lines. In the cases with optical emission lines, the studies mostly had to rely on low and intermediate dispersion spectra. This implies that for detailed studies of galactic wind physics we have to use local objects. In particular, dwarf galaxies are well suited to extrapolation to high redshift protogalaxies. Several kinematic studies of strongly starforming dwarf galaxies using Fabry‐Pérot and IFU spectrographs exist. Unfortunately, similar as for high redshift galaxies the employed spectral resolution is often significantly higher that the thermal line width. As a result faint high velocity features and details of the turbulent motion are hidden or unresolved. Here we will present an analysis of the ionized gas kinematics of the prototypical star‐forming irregular galaxy NGC 4449 using long‐slit, high‐dispersion échelle spectra. (© 2014 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

“Spektr-UF” project

The “Spektr-UF” project is intended for the design and development of a large space observatory operating in the ultraviolet (UV) band of the spectrum inaccessible for survey from the surface of the Earth. The main observatory instrument is a space telescope T-170M with a primary mirror 1.7 m in diameter; it will be equipped with high and low resolution spectrographs and cameras for high-quality UV imaging. In respect of capabilities, the project is similar to the American Hubble Space Telescope (HST), and exceeds the latter in some parameters. The project is included in the Russian Federal Space Program for the period 2006–2015. The launch is planned for 2016. The project is under development by the Lavochkin Association in cooperation with the Institute of Astronomy, Russian Academy of Sciences.     

Geometric characterization of the Arjuna orbital domain

Arjuna‐type orbits are characterized by being Earth‐like, having both low‐eccentricity and low‐inclination. Objects following these trajectories experience repeated trappings in the 1:1 commensurability with the Earth and can become temporary Trojans, horseshoe librators, quasi‐satellites, and even transient natural satellites. Here, we review what we know about this peculiar dynamical group and use a Monte Carlo simulation to characterize geometrically the Arjuna orbital domain, studying its visibility both from the ground and with the European Space Agency Gaia spacecraft. The visibility analysis from the ground together with the discovery circumstances of known objects are used as proxies to estimate the current size of this population. The impact cross‐section of the Earth for minor bodies in this resonant group is also investigated. We find that, for ground‐based observations, the solar elongation at perigee of nearly half of these objects is less than 90°. They are best observed by space‐borne telescopes, but Gaia is not going to improve significantly the current discovery rate for members of this class. Our results suggest that the size of this population may have been underestimated by current models. On the other hand, their intrinsically low encounter velocities with the Earth induce a 10–1000‐fold increase in the impact cross‐section with respect to what is typical for objects in the Apollo or Aten asteroid populations. We estimate that their probability of capture as transient natural satellites of our planet is about 8 %. (© 2015 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

8~10m级光学／红外望远镜的高分辨率光谱仪

介绍并比较了KeckSubaruVLTHET及Gemini中的5架8～10m天文望远镜的高分辨率光谱仪,分析这些仪器与2～4m级望远镜的阶梯光栅光谱仪或Coude光谱仪相比所采用的新设计思想和新技术.     

Stellar science from a blue wavelength range

From stellar spectra, a variety of physical properties of stars can be derived. In particular, the chemical composition of stellar atmospheres can be inferred from absorption line analyses. These provide key information on large scales, such as the formation of our Galaxy, down to the small‐scale nucleosynthesis processes that take place in stars and supernovae. By extending the observed wavelength range toward bluer wavelengths, we optimize such studies to also include critical absorption lines in metal‐poor stars, and allow for studies of heavy elements (Z ≥ 38) whose formation processes remain poorly constrained. In this context, spectrographs optimized for observing blue wavelength ranges are essential, since many absorption lines at redder wavelengths are too weak to be detected in metal‐poor stars. This means that some elements cannot be studied in the visual‐redder regions, and important scientific tracers and science cases are lost. The present era of large public surveys will target millions of stars. It is therefore important that the next generation of spectrographs are designed such that they cover a wide wavelength range and can observe a large number of stars simultaneously. Only then, we can gain the full information from stellar spectra, from both metal‐poor to metal‐rich ones, that will allow us to understand the aforementioned formation scenarios in greater detail. Here we describe the requirements driving the design of the forthcoming survey instrument 4MOST, a multi‐object spectrograph commissioned for the ESO VISTA 4 m‐telescope. While 4MOST is also intended for studies of active galactic nuclei, baryonic acoustic oscillations, weak lensing, cosmological constants, supernovae and other transients, we focus here on high‐density, wide‐area survey of stars and the science that can be achieved with high‐resolution stellar spectroscopy. Scientific and technical requirements that governed the design are described along with a thorough line blending analysis. For the high‐resolution spectrograph, we find that a sampling of ≥2.5 (pixels per resolving element), spectral resolution of 18000 or higher, and a wavelength range covering 393–436 nm, is the most well‐balanced solution for the instrument. A spectrograph with these characteristics will enable accurate abundance analysis (±0.1 dex) in the blue and allow us to confront the outlined scientific questions. (© 2015 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

The road to Earth twins – Karl Schwarzschild Award Lecture 2010

A rich population of low‐mass planets orbiting solar‐type stars on tight orbits has been detected by Doppler spectroscopy. These planets have masses in the domain of super‐Earths and Neptune‐type objects, and periods less than 100 days. In numerous cases these planets are part of very compact multiplanetary systems. Up to seven planets have been discovered orbiting one single star. These low‐mass planets have been detected by the HARPS spectrograph around 30 % of solar‐type stars. This very high occurrence rate has been recently confirmed by the results of the Kepler planetary transit space mission. The large number of planets of this kind allows us to attempt a first characterization of their statistical properties, which in turn represent constraints to understand the formation process of these systems. The achieved progress in the sensitivity and stability of spectrographs have already led to the discovery of planets with masses as small as 1.5 M_⊕ (© 2011 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Extreme Ultraviolet Variability Experiment (EVE) on?the?Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO): Overview?of?Science Objectives, Instrument Design, Data?Products, and Model Developments

The highly variable solar extreme ultraviolet (EUV) radiation is the major energy input to the Earth’s upper atmosphere, strongly impacting the geospace environment, affecting satellite operations, communications, and navigation. The Extreme ultraviolet Variability Experiment (EVE) onboard the NASA Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) will measure the solar EUV irradiance from 0.1 to 105?nm with unprecedented spectral resolution (0.1?nm), temporal cadence (ten seconds), and accuracy (20%). EVE includes several irradiance instruments: The Multiple EUV Grating Spectrographs (MEGS)-A is a grazing-incidence spectrograph that measures the solar EUV irradiance in the 5 to 37?nm range with 0.1-nm resolution, and the MEGS-B is a normal-incidence, dual-pass spectrograph that measures the solar EUV irradiance in the 35 to 105?nm range with 0.1-nm resolution. To provide MEGS in-flight calibration, the EUV SpectroPhotometer (ESP) measures the solar EUV irradiance in broadbands between 0.1 and 39?nm, and a MEGS-Photometer measures the Sun’s bright hydrogen emission at 121.6?nm. The EVE data products include a near real-time space-weather product (Level?0C), which provides the solar EUV irradiance in specific bands and also spectra in 0.1-nm intervals with a cadence of one minute and with a time delay of less than 15?minutes. The EVE higher-level products are Level?2 with the solar EUV irradiance at higher time cadence (0.25?seconds for photometers and ten seconds for spectrographs) and Level?3 with averages of the solar irradiance over a day and over each one-hour period. The EVE team also plans to advance existing models of solar EUV irradiance and to operationally use the EVE measurements in models of Earth’s ionosphere and thermosphere. Improved understanding of the evolution of solar flares and extending the various models to incorporate solar flare events are high priorities for the EVE team.     

Solar radio spectrography in Europe

Recent technical progress of solar radio spectrography is concerned with digital data recording, the achievement of high time and frequency resolution, and with an improved coverage of the radio range at short and long wavelengths. A spatially-distributed network of radio spectrographs allows for complementary information about solar events and periods of activity selected for detailed investigation.By modern radio spectrographs a wealth of not yet adequately classified spectral fine structures can be observed, some of them potentially intimately related to effects of fragmentation of flare energy and/or to processes related to coronal heating. Requirements for the choice of technical parameters of solar spectrographs for checking theoretical models of fundamental processes of energy release are reflected in modern instruments. Prospects for future observations are briefly included.     

Studies of granular velocities

The process of measuring granular velocity fields with an instrument having finite spectral and spatial resolution is investigated for the case that (1) a weak Fraunhofer line is used, (2) the velocity is constant with height in the solar atmosphere, (3) the original Doppler shifts are of the same order of magnitude as the intrinsic width of the line (width observed with infinitely high spectral and spatial resolution), (4) continuum brightness and line strength fluctuations are superimposed onto the velocity field.It is shown that using a spectral instrumental profile which is large compared to both the intrinsic line width and the rms Doppler shifts (as in the case of filtergrammes), the shift-induced brightness signal is always a linear function of the shift and corrections for finite spatial resolution can be applied to the measured shifts in the usual straightforward way.If the spectral instrumental profile is not large (as in the case of slit-spectrogrammes), the observed line profile is shown to depend upon the spatial resolution as well. It is altered (broadened, made asymmetric) by (1) spatially unresolved Doppler shifts and higher moments of the Doppler shift amplitude distribution, (2) by local correlation between continuum brightness, line strength, and velocity fluctuation. A value of the Doppler shift which is unaffected by nonlinearities, can be measured at a certain position in the line wing. Knowledge of the intrinsic line width is necessary, however, to determine this position, as well as the order of magnitude of the nonlinearity effects producing asymmetries in the observed line profile. Finally, the conditions are discussed under which a complete deconvolution of a spectrum could be accomplished.On leave from Fraunhofer Institut, Freiburg.     

WSO/UV spectrographs: the expected performance of HIRDES

The World Space Observatory Ultraviolet (WSO/UV) is a multi-national project grown out of the needs of the astronomical community to have future access to the UV range. WSO/UV consists of a single UV telescope with a primary mirror of 1.7 m diameter feeding the UV spectrometer and UV imagers. The spectrometer comprises three different spectrographs, two high-resolution echelle spectrographs (the High-Resolution Double-Echelle Spectrograph, HIRDES) and a low-dispersion long-slit instrument. Within HIRDES the 102–310 nm spectral band is split to feed two echelle spectrographs covering the UV range 174–310 nm and the vacuum-UV range 102–176 nm with high spectral resolution (R>55000). The technical concept is based on the heritage of two previous ORFEUS SPAS missions. The phase-B1 development activities are described in this paper considering the performance of the instruments.     

Observational evidence for expansion in the SSS spectra of novae

For several novae, a bright X‐ray source with a spectrum resembling the class of Super Soft X‐ray Sources (SSS) has been observed a few weeks to months after outburst. Novae are powered by explosive nuclear burning on the surface of a white dwarf, and enough energy is produced to power a radiatively driven wind. Owing to the evolution of the opacity of the ejecta, the observable spectrum gradually shifts from optical to soft X‐rays (SSS phase). It has sometimes been assumed that at the beginning of the SSS phase no more mass loss occurs. However, high‐resolution X‐ray spectra of some novae have shown highly blue‐shifted absorption lines, indicating a significant expansion. In this paper, I show that all novae that have been observed with X‐ray gratings during their SSS phase show significant blue shifts. I argue that all models that attempt to explain the X‐ray bright SSS phase have to accommodate the continued expansion of the ejecta (© 2010 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Methods of Laser,Non-Linear,and Fiber Optics in Studying Fundamental Problems of Astrophysics

Precise measurements of Doppler shifts of lines in stellar spectra allowing the radial velocity to be measured are an important field of astrophysical studies. A remarkable feature of the Doppler spectroscopy is the possibility to reliably measure quite small variations of the radial velocities (its acceleration, in fact) during long periods of time. Influence of a planet on a star is an example of such a variation. Under the influence of a planet rotating around a star, the latter demonstrates periodic motion manifested in the Doppler shift of the stellar spectrum. Precise measurements of this shift made it possible to indirectly discover planets outside the Solar system (exoplanets). Along with this, searching for Earth-type exoplanets within the habitable zone is an important challenge. For this purpose, accuracy of spectral measurements has to allow one to determine radial velocity variations at the level of centimeters per second during the timespans of about a year. Suchmeasurements on the periods of 10–15 years also would serve as a directmethod for determination of assumed acceleration of the Universe expansion. However, the required accuracy of spectroscopic measurements for this exceeds the possibilities of the traditional spectroscopy (an iodine cell, spectral lamps). Methods of radical improvement of possibilities of astronomical Doppler spectroscopy allowing one to attain the required measurement accuracy of Doppler shifts are considered. The issue of precise calibration can be solved through creating a system of a laser optical frequency generator of an exceptionally high accuracy and stability.     

High‐fidelity spectroscopy at the highest resolutions

High‐fidelity spectroscopy presents challenges for both observations and in designing instruments. High‐resolution and high‐accuracy spectra are required for verifying hydrodynamic stellar atmospheres and for resolving intergalactic absorption‐line structures in quasars. Even with great photon fluxes from large telescopes with matching spectrometers, precise measurements of line profiles and wavelength positions encounter various physical, observational, and instrumental limits. The analysis may be limited by astrophysical and telluric blends, lack of suitable lines, imprecise laboratory wavelengths, or instrumental imperfections. To some extent, such limits can be pushed by forming averages over many similar spectral lines, thus averaging away small random blends and wavelength errors. In situations where theoretical predictions of lineshapes and shifts can be accurately made (e.g., hydrodynamic models of solar‐type stars), the consistency between noisy observations and theoretical predictions may be verified; however this is not feasible for, e.g., the complex of intergalactic metal lines in spectra of distant quasars, where the primary data must come from observations. To more fully resolve lineshapes and interpret wavelength shifts in stars and quasars alike, spectral resolutions on order R = 300 000 or more are required; a level that is becoming (but is not yet) available. A grand challenge remains to design efficient spectrometers with resolutions approaching R = 1 000 000 for the forthcoming generation of extremely large telescopes (© 2010 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

The FALCON concept: multi-object adaptive optics and atmospheric tomography for integral field spectroscopy – principles and performance on an 8-m telescope

Integral field spectrographs are major instruments with which to study the mechanisms involved in the formation and the evolution of early galaxies. When combined with multi-object spectroscopy, those spectrographs can behave as machines used to derive physical parameters of galaxies during their formation process. Up to now, there has been only one available spectrograph with multiple integral field units, i.e. FLAMES/GIRAFFE on the European Southern Observatory (ESO) Very Large Telescope (VLT). However, current ground-based instruments suffer from a degradation of their spatial resolution due to atmospheric turbulence. In this article we describe the performance of FALCON, an original concept of a new-generation multi-object integral field spectrograph with adaptive optics for the ESO VLT. The goal of FALCON is to combine high angular resolution (0.25 arcsec) and high spectral resolution  ( R > 5000)  in the J and H bands over a wide field of view  (10 × 10 arcmin²)  in the VLT Nasmyth focal plane. However, instead of correcting the whole field, FALCON will use multi-object adaptive optics (MOAO) to perform the adaptive optics correction locally on each scientific target. This requires us then to use atmospheric tomography in order to use suitable natural guide stars for wavefront sensing. We will show that merging MOAO and atmospheric tomography allows us to determine the internal kinematics of distant galaxies up to z ≈ 2 with a sky coverage of 50 per cent, even for objects observed near the Galactic pole. The application of such a concept to extremely large telescopes seems therefore to be a very promising way to study galaxy evolution from z = 1 to redshifts as high as z = 7.     

Insight-building models for lunar range and range rate

The analysis of range or Doppler data between sites on the Earth and Moon requires an accurate computation of the lunar orbit and detailed models of the orientation of the Earth and Moon. Models constructed to understand range and range rate can lack detail, but if they include the largest lunar orbit variations, tracking stations on a rotating Earth, and lunar sites on a synchronously rotating Moon, then they will display the largest effects for orbit elements, Earth orientation, tracking station locations, and lunar site coordinates. The range and range rate are expanded into periodic series. To understand accurate solutions, the largest periodic terms that are sensitive to various solution parameters indicate the sensitivity of data to solution parameters and the time spans needed for their determination. Conclusions include: cylindrical coordinates work well for sites on the rapidly rotating Earth, but Cartesian coordinates are more natural for the synchronously rotating Moon since the series for the three coordinate projections are distinct. For range and range rate data, daily, semimonthly, monthly, and longer periods are present. For Doppler data, the daily periods may be stronger and more useful than the long periods, particularly for terms associated with the terrestrial tracking station. Doppler data do not determine the lander coordinate toward the Earth well. Observational strategies for range and Doppler data are not identical. For all data types, one wishes a variety of hour angles, lunar declinations, times of month, and longer periods. A long span of high-quality range data can improve the lunar orbit, orientation of the Earth’s equator, and physical librations. The locations of new lunar sites or new tracking stations can be determined from shorter spans of data.