Engineering topics

Lloyd, James P.

Publications and source records attributed to Lloyd, James P..

6 records

DOE OSTI2016

High-resolution broadband spectroscopy using externally dispersed interferometry at the Hale telescope: Part 2, photon noise theory

High-resolution broadband spectroscopy at near-infrared (NIR) wavelengths (950 to 2450 nm) has been performed using externally dispersed interferometry (EDI) at the Hale telescope at Mt. Palomar, with the TEDI interferometer mounted within the central hole of the 200-in. primary mirror in series with the comounted TripleSpec NIR echelle spectrograph. These are the first multidelay EDI demonstrations on starlight. We demonstrated very high (10×) resolution boost and dramatic (20× or more) robustness to point spread function wavelength drifts in the native spectrograph. Data analysis, results, and instrument noise are described in a companion paper (part 1). This part 2 describes theoretical photon limited and readout noise limited behaviors, using simulated spectra and instrument model with noise added at the detector. We show that a single interferometer delay can be used to reduce the high frequency noise at the original resolution (1× boost case), and that except for delays much smaller than the native response peak half width, the fringing and nonfringing noises act uncorrelated and add in quadrature. This is due to the frequency shifting of the noise due to the heterodyning effect. We find a sum rule for the noise variance for multiple delays. The multiple delay EDI using a Gaussian distribution of exposure times has noise-to-signal ratio for photon-limited noise similar to a classical spectrograph with reduced slitwidth and reduced flux, proportional to the square root of resolution boost achieved, but without the focal spot limitation and pixel spacing Nyquist limitations. At low boost (~1×) EDI has ~1.4× smaller noise than conventional, and at >10× boost, EDI has ~1.4× larger noise than conventional. Readout noise is minimized by the use of three or four steps instead of 10 of TEDI. Net noise grows as step phases change from symmetrical arrangement with wavenumber across the band. As a result, for three (or four) steps, we calculate a multiplicative bandwidth of 1.8:1 (2.3:1), sufficient to handle the visible band (400 to 700 nm, 1.8:1) and most of TripleSpec (2.6:1).

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗

DOE OSTI2016

High-resolution broadband spectroscopy using externally dispersed interferometry at the Hale telescope: Part 1, data analysis and results

High-resolution broadband spectroscopy at near-infrared wavelengths (950 to 2450 nm) has been performed using externally dispersed interferometry (EDI) at the Hale telescope at Mt. Palomar. Observations of stars were performed with the “TEDI” interferometer mounted within the central hole of the 200-in. primary mirror in series with the comounted TripleSpec near-infrared echelle spectrograph. These are the first multidelay EDI demonstrations on starlight, as earlier measurements used a single delay or laboratory sources. We demonstrate very high (10×) resolution boost, from original 2700 to 27,000 with current set of delays (up to 3 cm), well beyond the classical limits enforced by the slit width and detector pixel Nyquist limit. Significantly, the EDI used with multiple delays rather than a single delay as used previously yields an order of magnitude or more improvement in the stability against native spectrograph point spread function (PSF) drifts along the dispersion direction. We observe a dramatic (20×) reduction in sensitivity to PSF shift using our standard processing. A recently realized method of further reducing the PSF shift sensitivity to zero is described theoretically and demonstrated in a simple simulation which produces a 350× times reduction. We demonstrate superb rejection of fixed pattern noise due to bad detector pixels—EDI only responds to changes in pixel intensity synchronous to applied dithering. This part 1 describes data analysis, results, and instrument noise. Lastly, a section on theoretical photon limited sensitivity is in a companion paper, part 2.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗

DOE OSTI2014

CHARACTERIZING THE COOL KOIs. VI. H- AND K-BAND SPECTRA OF KEPLER M DWARF PLANET-CANDIDATE HOSTS

We present H- and K-band spectra for late-type Kepler Objects of Interest (the {sup C}ool KOIs{sup )}: low-mass stars with transiting-planet candidates discovered by NASA's Kepler Mission that are listed on the NASA Exoplanet Archive. We acquired spectra of 103 Cool KOIs and used the indices and calibrations of Rojas-Ayala et al. to determine their spectral types, stellar effective temperatures, and metallicities, significantly augmenting previously published values. We interpolate our measured effective temperatures and metallicities onto evolutionary isochrones to determine stellar masses, radii, luminosities, and distances, assuming the stars have settled onto the main sequence. As a choice of isochrones, we use a new suite of Dartmouth predictions that reliably include mid-to-late M dwarf stars. We identify five M4V stars: KOI-961 (confirmed as Kepler 42), KOI-2704, KOI-2842, KOI-4290, and the secondary component to visual binary KOI-1725, which we call KOI-1725 B. We also identify a peculiar star, KOI-3497, which has Na and Ca lines consistent with a dwarf star but CO lines consistent with a giant. Visible-wavelength adaptive optics imaging reveals two objects within a 1 arcsec diameter; however, the objects' colors are peculiar. The spectra and properties presented in this paper serve as a resource for prioritizing follow-up observations and planet validation efforts for the Cool KOIs and are all available for download online using the ''data behind the figure'' feature.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

DOE OSTI2013

THE MASS DISTRIBUTION OF SUBGIANT PLANET HOSTS

High mass stars are hostile to Doppler measurements due to rotation and activity on the main-sequence, so RV searches for planets around massive stars have relied on evolved stars. A large number of planets have been found around evolved stars with M > 1.5 M{sub Sun }. To test the robustness of mass determinations, Lloyd compared mass distributions of planet hosting subgiants with distributions from integrating isochrones and concluded that it is unlikely the subgiant planet hosts are this massive, but rather that the mass inferences are systematically in error. The conclusions of Lloyd have been called in to question by Johnson et al., who show TRILEGAL-based mass distributions that disagree with the mass distributions in Lloyd, which they attribute to Malmquist bias. Johnson et al. argue that the very small spectroscopic observational uncertainties favor high masses, and there are a large number of high mass sub giants in RV surveys. However, in this Letter, it is shown that Malmquist bias does not impact the mass distributions, but the mass distribution is sensitive to Galaxy model. The relationship needed to reconcile the subgiant planet host masses with any model of the Galactic stellar population is implausible, and the conclusion of Lloyd that spectroscopic mass determinations of subgiants are likely to have been overestimated is robust.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

DOE OSTI2013

CHARACTERIZING THE COOL KOIs. V. KOI-256: A MUTUALLY ECLIPSING POST-COMMON ENVELOPE BINARY

We report that Kepler Object of Interest 256 (KOI-256) is a mutually eclipsing post-common envelope binary (ePCEB), consisting of a cool white dwarf (M{sub *} = 0.592 {+-} 0.089 M{sub Sun }, R{sub *} = 0.01345 {+-} 0.00091 R{sub Sun }, T{sub eff} = 7100 {+-} 700 K) and an active M3 dwarf (M{sub *} = 0.51 {+-} 0.16 M{sub Sun }, R{sub *} = 0.540 {+-} 0.014 R{sub Sun }, T{sub eff} = 3450 {+-} 50 K) with an orbital period of 1.37865 {+-} 0.00001 days. KOI-256 is listed as hosting a transiting planet-candidate by Borucki et al. and Batalha et al.; here we report that the planet-candidate transit signal is in fact the occultation of a white dwarf as it passes behind the M dwarf. We combine publicly-available long- and short-cadence Kepler light curves with ground-based measurements to robustly determine the system parameters. The occultation events are readily apparent in the Kepler light curve, as is spin-orbit synchronization of the M dwarf, and we detect the transit of the white dwarf in front of the M dwarf halfway between the occultation events. The size of the white dwarf with respect to the Einstein ring during transit (R{sub Ein} = 0.00473 {+-} 0.00055 R{sub Sun }) causes the transit depth to be shallower than expected from pure geometry due to gravitational lensing. KOI-256 is an old, long-period ePCEB and serves as a benchmark object for studying the evolution of binary star systems as well as white dwarfs themselves, thanks largely to the availability of near-continuous, ultra-precise Kepler photometry.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

NASA NTRS2004

The Antarctic Planet Interferometer

The Antarctic Planet Interferometer is an instrument concept designed to detect and characterize extrasolar planets by exploiting the unique potential of the best accessible site on earth for thermal infrared interferometry. High-precision interferometric techniques under development for extrasolar planet detection and characterization (differential phase, nulling and astrometry) all benefit substantially from the slow, low-altitude turbulence, low water vapor content, and low temperature found on the Antarctic plateau. At the best of these locations, such as the Concordia base being developed at Dome C, an interferometer with two-meter diameter class apertures has the potential to deliver unique science for a variety of topics, including extrasolar planets, active galactic nuclei, young stellar objects, and protoplanetary disks.

interferometry↗