ESPRESSO, an exo-Earths hunter for the VLT

Denis Mégevand; Filippo M. Zerbi; Paolo Di Marcantonio; Alexandre Cabral; Francesco Pepe; Stefano Cristiani; Rafael Rebolo; Nuno C. Santos; Hans Dekker; Manuel Abreu; Michael Affolter; Matteo Aliverti; Manuel Amate; Gerardo Avila; Veronica Baldini; Paul Bristow; Christopher Broeg; Roberto Cirami; João Coelho; Paolo Conconi; Igor Coretti; Guido Cupani; Valentina D'Odorico; Vincenzo De Caprio; Bernard Delabre; Reinhold Dorn; Pedro Figueira; Ana Fragoso; Samuele Galeotta; Ludovic Genolet; Ricardo Gomes; Jonay Gonzalez Hernandez; Ian Hughes; Olaf Iwert; Florian Kerber; Marco Landoni; Jean-Louis Lizon; Christophe Lovis; Charles Maire; Marco Mannetta; Carlos Martins; Paolo Molaro; Manuel Monteiro; Antonio Oliveira; Maria Rosa Zapatero Osorio; Ennio Poretti; José Luis Rasilla; Marco Riva; Samuel Santana Tschudi; Pedro Santos; Danuta Sosnowska; Sergio Sousa; Fabio Tenegi; Giorgio Toso; Eros Vanzella; Matteo Viel

doi:10.1117/12.2022520

26 September 2013 ESPRESSO, an exo-Earths hunter for the VLT

Denis Mégevand, Filippo M. Zerbi, Paolo Di Marcantonio, Alexandre Cabral, Francesco Pepe, Stefano Cristiani, Rafael Rebolo, Nuno C. Santos, Hans Dekker, Manuel Abreu, Michael Affolter, Matteo Aliverti, Manuel Amate, Gerardo Avila, Veronica Baldini, Paul Bristow, Christopher Broeg, Roberto Cirami, João Coelho, Paolo Conconi, Igor Coretti, Guido Cupani, Valentina D'Odorico, Vincenzo De Caprio, Bernard Delabre, Reinhold Dorn, Pedro Figueira, Ana Fragoso, Samuele Galeotta, Ludovic Genolet, Ricardo Gomes, Jonay Gonzalez Hernandez, Ian Hughes, Olaf Iwert, Florian Kerber, Marco Landoni, Jean-Louis Lizon, Christophe Lovis, Charles Maire, Marco Mannetta, Carlos Martins, Paolo Molaro, Manuel Monteiro, Antonio Oliveira, Maria Rosa Zapatero Osorio, Ennio Poretti, José Luis Rasilla, Marco Riva, Samuel Santana Tschudi, Pedro Santos, Danuta Sosnowska, Sergio Sousa, Fabio Tenegi, Giorgio Toso, Eros Vanzella, Matteo Viel

Author Affiliations +

Proceedings Volume 8864, Techniques and Instrumentation for Detection of Exoplanets VI; 88640E (2013) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2022520
Event: SPIE Optical Engineering + Applications, 2013, San Diego, California, United States

Abstract

ESPRESSO is the next European exoplanets hunter. It will combine the efficiency of modern echelle spectrograph with extreme radial-velocity precision. It will be installed at Paranal's VLT in order to achieve two magnitudes gain with respect to its predecessor HARPS, and the instrumental radial-velocity precision will be improved to reach 10 cm/s level. We have constituted a Consortium of astronomical research institutes to fund, design and build ESPRESSO on behalf of and in collaboration with ESO, the European Southern Observatory. The project has passed the final design review in May 2013. The spectrograph will be installed at the Combined Coudé Laboratory of the VLT, it will be linked to the four 8.2 meters Unit Telescopes through four optical "Coudé trains" and will be operated either with a single telescope or with up to four UTs, enabling an additional 1.5 magnitude gain. Thanks to its characteristics and ability of combining incoherently the light of 4 large telescopes, ESPRESSO will offer new possibilities in many fields of astronomy. Our main scientific objectives are, however, the search and characterization of rocky exoplanets in the habitable zone of quiet, near-by G to M-dwarfs, and the analysis of the variability of fundamental physical constants. In this paper, we will present the scientific objectives, the capabilities of ESPRESSO, the technical solutions for the system and its subsystems, enlightening the main differences between ESPRESSO and its predecessors. The project aspects of this facility are also described, from the consortium and partnership structure to the planning phases and milestones.

Citation Download Citation

Denis Mégevand, Filippo M. Zerbi, Paolo Di Marcantonio, Alexandre Cabral, Francesco Pepe, Stefano Cristiani, Rafael Rebolo, Nuno C. Santos, Hans Dekker, Manuel Abreu, Michael Affolter, Matteo Aliverti, Manuel Amate, Gerardo Avila, Veronica Baldini, Paul Bristow, Christopher Broeg, Roberto Cirami, João Coelho, Paolo Conconi, Igor Coretti, Guido Cupani, Valentina D'Odorico, Vincenzo De Caprio, Bernard Delabre, Reinhold Dorn, Pedro Figueira, Ana Fragoso, Samuele Galeotta, Ludovic Genolet, Ricardo Gomes, Jonay Gonzalez Hernandez, Ian Hughes, Olaf Iwert, Florian Kerber, Marco Landoni, Jean-Louis Lizon, Christophe Lovis, Charles Maire, Marco Mannetta, Carlos Martins, Paolo Molaro, Manuel Monteiro, Antonio Oliveira, Maria Rosa Zapatero Osorio, Ennio Poretti, José Luis Rasilla, Marco Riva, Samuel Santana Tschudi, Pedro Santos, Danuta Sosnowska, Sergio Sousa, Fabio Tenegi, Giorgio Toso, Eros Vanzella, and Matteo Viel "ESPRESSO, an exo-Earths hunter for the VLT", Proc. SPIE 8864, Techniques and Instrumentation for Detection of Exoplanets VI, 88640E (26 September 2013); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2022520

ACCESS THE FULL ARTICLE

INSTITUTIONAL
Select your institution to access the SPIE Digital Library.

SELECT YOUR INSTITUTION

PERSONAL
Sign in with your SPIE account to access your personal subscriptions or to use specific features such as save to my library, sign up for alerts, save searches, etc.

PERSONAL SIGN IN

No SPIE Account? Create one

PURCHASE THIS CONTENT

SUBSCRIBE TO DIGITAL LIBRARY

50 downloads per 1-year subscription

Members: $195

Non-members: $335 ADD TO CART

25 downloads per 1 - year subscription

Members: $145

Non-members: $250 ADD TO CART

PURCHASE SINGLE ARTICLE

Includes PDF, HTML & Video, when available