The Habitable Zone Planet Finder: A Proposed High Resolution Nir Spectrograph For The Het To Discover Low Mass Exoplanets Around M Stars
Abstract
The Habitable Zone Planet Finder (HZPF) is a proposed instrument for the 9m Hobby Eberly telescope that will be capable of discovering low mass planets around M dwarfs. HZPF will be fiber-fed, provide a spectral resolution R 50,000 and cover the wavelength range 0.9-1.65mm, the Y, J and H near infrared (NIR) bands where most of the flux is emitted by late type M stars, and where most of the radial velocity information is concentrated. Enclosed in a vacuum tank with active temperature control, fiber scrambling and mechanical agitation, HZPF is designed to achieve a radial velocity precision < 3m/s, with a desire to achieve 1m/s for the brightest targets. This instrument will enable a study of the properties of low mass planets around M dwarfs; discover planets in the habitable zones around these stars, and serve as an essential radial velocity confirmation tool for astrometric and transit detections around late M dwarfs. Radial velocity observation the NIR will also enable a search for close in planets around young active stars, complementing the search space enabled by upcoming high-contrast imaging instruments. Tests with our laboratory prototype have already demonstrated the ability to recover radial velocities in the NIR at 7-10 m/s precision from integrated sunlight. We will discuss lessons learned about calibration and NIR array performance from our tests and how they impact the design of the HZPF.
- Publication:
-
American Astronomical Society Meeting Abstracts #215
- Pub Date:
- January 2010
- Bibcode:
- 2010AAS...21542123M