Fisher matrix forecasts for astrophysical tests of the stability of the fine-structure constant

Alves, Claudia; Silva, T.A.; Martins, C. J. A. P.; Leite, A. C. O.

doi:10.1016/j.physletb.2017.03.053

Cited by 7 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 24 publications

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“…pepe_final damental physics and theoretical cosmology. While the impact of confirmed spacetime variations is self-evident, more stringent upper bounds on these variations are also important and will lead to improved constraints on the parameter space of various theoretical paradigms that predict their variability (Martins 2017;Alves et al 2017;Martins & Vacher 2019).…”

Section: Varying Fundamental Constantsmentioning

confidence: 99%

ESPRESSO at VLT

Pepe

Cristiani

Rebolo

et al. 2021

A&A

334

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Context. ESPRESSO is the new high-resolution spectrograph of ESO's Very Large Telescope (VLT). It was designed for ultra-high radial-velocity (RV) precision and extreme spectral fidelity with the aim of performing exoplanet research and fundamental astrophysical experiments with unprecedented precision and accuracy. It is able to observe with any of the four Unit Telescopes (UTs) of the VLT at a spectral resolving power of 140 000 or 190 000 over the 378.2 to 788.7 nm wavelength range; it can also observe with all four UTs together, turning the VLT into a 16-m diameter equivalent telescope in terms of collecting area while still providing a resolving power of 70 000. Aims. We provide a general description of the ESPRESSO instrument, report on its on-sky performance, and present our Guaranteed Time Observation (GTO) program along with its first results. Methods. ESPRESSO was installed on the Paranal Observatory in fall 2017. Commissioning (on-sky testing) was conducted between December 2017 and September 2018. The instrument saw its official start of operations on October 1, 2018, but improvements to the instrument and recommissioning runs were conducted until July 2019. Results. The measured overall optical throughput of ESPRESSO at 550 nm and a seeing of 0.65 exceeds the 10% mark under nominal astroclimatic conditions. We demonstrate an RV precision of better than 25 cm s −1 during a single night and 50 cm s −1 over several months. These values being limited by photon noise and stellar jitter shows that the performance is compatible with an instrumental precision of 10 cm s −1. No difference has been measured across the UTs, neither in throughput nor RV precision. Conclusions. The combination of the large collecting telescope area with the efficiency and the exquisite spectral fidelity of ESPRESSO opens a new parameter space in RV measurements, the study of planetary atmospheres, fundamental constants, stellar characterization, and many other fields.

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Section: Varying Fundamental Constantsmentioning

confidence: 99%

ESPRESSO at VLT

Pepe

Cristiani

Rebolo

et al. 2021

A&A

334

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show abstract

“…The proposed observations, a first version of which is summarized in Leite et al (2016), will test the universality of physical laws in an unexplored regime, which directly impacts fundamental physics and theoretical cosmology. While the impact of confirmed spacetime variations is self-evident, more stringent upper bounds on these variations are also important and will lead to improved constraints on the parameter space of various theoretical paradigms that predict their variability (Martins 2017;Alves et al 2017;Martins & Vacher 2019).…”

Section: Varying Fundamental Constantsmentioning

confidence: 99%

ESPRESSO@VLT -- On-sky performance and first results

Pepe,

Cristiani,

Rebolo

et al. 2020

Preprint

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Context. ESPRESSO is the new high-resolution spectrograph of ESO's Very-Large Telescope (VLT). It was designed for ultra-high radial-velocity precision and extreme spectral fidelity with the aim of performing exoplanet research and fundamental astrophysical experiments with unprecedented precision and accuracy. It is able to observe with any of the four Unit Telescopes (UT) of the VLT at a spectral resolving power of 140 000 or 190 000 over the 378.2 to 788.7 nm wavelength range, or with all UTs together, turning the VLT into a 16-m diameter equivalent telescope in terms of collecting area, while still providing a resolving power of 70 000. Aims. We provide a general description of the ESPRESSO instrument, report on the actual on-sky performance, and present our Guaranteed-Time Observation (GTO) program with its first results. Methods. ESPRESSO was installed on the Paranal Observatory in fall 2017. Commissioning (on-sky testing) was conducted between December 2017 and September 2018. The instrument saw its official start of operations on October 1st, 2018, but improvements to the instrument and re-commissioning runs were conducted until July 2019. Results. The measured overall optical throughput of ESPRESSO at 550 nm and a seeing of 0.65 exceeds the 10% mark under nominal astroclimatic conditions. We demonstrate a radial-velocity precision of better than 25 cm s −1 during one night and 50 cm s −1 over several months. These values being limited by photon noise and stellar jitter show that the performanceis compatible with an instrumental precision of 10 cm s −1 . No difference has been measured across the UTs neither in throughput nor RV precision. Conclusions. The combination of the large collecting telescope area with the efficiency and the exquisite spectral fidelity of ESPRESSO opens a new parameter space in RV measurements, the study of planetary atmospheres, fundamental constants, stellar characterisation and many other fields.

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“…With the recently started ESPRESSO GTO this bound is expected to improve by an order of magnitude (for null results), or a non-zero ζ should be detected at 3 standard deviations for variations saturating the current bounds. These forecasts are discussed in Alves et al (2017).…”

Section: Implications For Dark Energymentioning

confidence: 99%

Fundamental Physics and Cosmology in the Extremely Large Telescopes Era

Martins

2019

Preprint

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The observational evidence for the recent acceleration of the universe demonstrates that canonical theories of cosmology and particle physics are incomplete (or possibly incorrect) and that new physics is out there, waiting to be discovered. A crucial task for the next generation of astrophysical facilities is to search for, identify and ultimately characterise this new physics. I outline the theoretical arguments pointing to this new physics, and then discuss some unique contributions of the ELTs towards this endeavour, including tests of the stability of natures fundamental couplings, tests of the behaviour of gravity in the strong-field regime, and mapping the expansion history of the universe in the deep matter era, by both direct and indirect means. I also briefly highlight how the ELTs can optimally complement other planned ground and space facilities, and stress the requirements that these searches impose on the instruments currently being built or developed.

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Fisher matrix forecasts for astrophysical tests of the stability of the fine-structure constant

Cited by 7 publications

References 24 publications

ESPRESSO at VLT

ESPRESSO at VLT

ESPRESSO@VLT -- On-sky performance and first results

Fundamental Physics and Cosmology in the Extremely Large Telescopes Era

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