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Register a new userWavelength Self-Calibration and Sky Subtraction for Fabry-Perot Interferometers: Applications to OSIRIS
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We describe techniques concerning wavelength calibration and sky subtraction to maximise the scientific utility of data from tunable filter instruments. While we specifically address data from the Optical System for Imaging and low Resolution Integrated Spectroscopy instrument (OSIRIS) on the 10.4~m Gran Telescopio Canarias telescope, our discussion is generalisable to data from other tunable filter instruments. A key aspect of our methodology is a coordinate transformation to polar coordinates, which simplifies matters when the tunable filter data is circularly symmetric around the optical centre. First, we present a method for rectifying inaccuracies in the wavelength calibration using OH sky emission rings. Using this technique, we improve the absolute wavelength calibration from an accuracy of 5 Angstroms to 1 Angstrom, equivalent to ~7% of our instrumental resolution, for 95% of our data. Then, we discuss a new way to estimate the background sky emission by median filtering in polar coordinates. This method suppresses contributions to the sky background from the outer envelopes of distant galaxies, maximising the fluxes of sources measured in the corresponding sky-subtracted images. We demonstrate for data tuned to a central wavelength of 7615~$rmAA$ that galaxy fluxes in the new sky-subtracted image are ~37% higher, versus a sky-subtracted image from existing methods for OSIRIS tunable filter data.
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The study of Earth-mass extrasolar planets via the radial-velocity technique and the measurement of the potential cosmological variability of fundamental constants call for very-high-precision spectroscopy at the level of $updeltalambda/lambda<10^{-9}$. Wavelength accuracy is obtained by providing two fundamental ingredients: 1) an absolute and information-rich wavelength source and 2) the ability of the spectrograph and its data reduction of transferring the reference scale (wavelengths) to a measurement scale (detector pixels) in a repeatable manner. The goal of this work is to improve the wavelength calibration accuracy of the HARPS spectrograph by combining the absolute spectral reference provided by the emission lines of a thorium-argon hollow-cathode lamp (HCL) with the spectrally rich and precise spectral information of a Fabry-Perot-based calibration source. On the basis of calibration frames acquired each night since the Fabry-Perot etalon was installed on HARPS in 2011, we construct a combined wavelength solution which fits simultaneously the thorium emission lines and the Fabry-Perot lines. The combined fit is anchored to the absolute thorium wavelengths, which provide the `zero-point of the spectrograph, while the Fabry-Perot lines are used to improve the (spectrally) local precision. The obtained wavelength solution is verified for auto-consistency and tested against a solution obtained using the HARPS Laser-Frequency Comb (LFC). The combined thorium+Fabry-Perot wavelength solution shows significantly better performances compared to the thorium-only calibration. The presented techniques will therefore be used in the new HARPS and HARPS-N pipeline, and will be exported to the ESPRESSO spectrograph.
OSIRIS (Optical System for Imaging and low Resolution Integrated Spectroscopy) is the first light instrument of the Gran Telescopio Canarias (GTC). It provides a flexible and competitive tunable filter (TF). Since it is based on a Fabry-Perot interferometer working in collimated beam, the TF transmission wavelength depends on the position of the target with respect to the optical axis. This effect is non-negligible and must be accounted for in the data reduction. Our paper establishes a wavelength calibration for OSIRIS TF with the accuracy required for spectrophotometric measurements using the full field of view (FOV) of the instrument. The variation of the transmission wavelength $lambda(R)$ across the FOV is well described by $lambda(R)=lambda(0)/sqrt{1+(R/f_2)^2}$, where $lambda(0)$ is the central wavelength, $R$ represents the physical distance from the optical axis, and $f_2=185.70pm0.17,$mm is the effective focal length of the camera lens. This new empirical calibration yields an accuracy better than 1,AA across the entire OSIRIS FOV ($sim$8arcmin$times$8arcmin), provided that the position of the optical axis is known within 45 $mu$m ($equiv$ 1.5 binned pixels). We suggest a calibration protocol to grant such precision over long periods, upon re-alignment of OSIRIS optics, and in different wavelength ranges. This calibration differs from the calibration in OSIRIS manual which, nonetheless, provides an accuracy $lesssim1$AA, for $Rlesssim 2arcmin$.
The spectral, imaging, and polarimetric behavior of Fabry-Perot etalons have an influence on imaging vector magnetograph instruments based on these devices. The impact depends, among others, on the optical configuration (collimated or telecentric), on the relative position of the etalon with respect to the polarimeter, on the type of etalon (air-gapped or crystalline), and even on the polarimetric technique to be used (single-beam or dual-beam). In this paper we evaluate the artificial line-of-sight velocities and magnetic field strengths that arise in etalon-based instruments attending to the mentioned factors. We differentiate between signals that are implicit to telecentric mounts due to the wavelength dependence of the point-spread function and those emerging in both collimated and telecentric setups from the polarimetric response of birefringent etalons. For the anisotropic case we consider two possible locations of the etalon, between the modulator and the analyzer or after it, and we include the effect on different channels when dual-beam polarimetry is employed. We also evaluate the impact of the loss of symmetry produced in telecentric mounts due to imperfections in the illumination and/or to a tilt of the etalon relative to the incident beam.
(Abridged): We define and test a new technique to accurately measure the cavity defects of air-spaced FPIs, including distortions due to the spectral tuning process typical of astronomical observations. We further develop a correction technique to maintain the shape of the cavity as constant as possible during the spectral scan. These are necessary steps to optimize the spectral transmission profile of a two-dimensional spectrograph using one or more FPIs. We devise a generalization of the techniques developed for the so-called phase-shifting interferometry to the case of FPIs. The technique is applicable to any FPI that can be tuned via changing the cavity spacing ($z$-axis), and can be used for any etalon regardless of the coating reflectivity. The major strength of our method is the ability to fully characterize the cavity during a spectral scan, allowing for the determination of scan-dependent modifications of the plates. As a test, we have applied this technique to three 50 mm diameter interferometers, with cavity gaps ranging between 600 micron and 3 mm, coated for use in the visible range. We obtain accurate and reliable measures of the cavity defects of air-spaced FPIs, and of their evolution during the entire spectral scan. Our main, and unexpected, result is that the relative tilt between the two FPI plates varies significantly during the spectral scan, and can dominate the cavity defects; in particular, we observe that the tilt component at the extremes of the scan is sensibly larger than at the center of the scan. Exploiting the capability of the electronic controllers to set the reference plane at any given spectral step, we develop a correction technique that allows the minimization of the tilt during a complete spectral scan. The correction remains highly stable over long periods, well beyond the typical duration of astronomical observations.
We report on shot noise measurements in carbon nanotube based Fabry-Perot electronic interferometers. As a consequence of quantum interferences, the noise power spectral density oscillates as a function of the voltage applied to the gate electrode. The quantum shot noise theory accounts for the data quantitatively. It allows to confirm the existence of two nearly degenerate orbitals. At resonance, the transmission of the nanotube approaches unity, and the nanotube becomes noiseless, as observed in quantum point contacts. In this weak backscattering regime, the dependence of the noise on the backscattering current is found weaker than expected, pointing either to electron-electron interactions or to weak decoherence.
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