Computer Science – Sound
Scientific paper
Sep 2008
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2008epsc.conf..581r&link_type=abstract
European Planetary Science Congress 2008, Proceedings of the conference held 21-25 September, 2008 in Münster, Germany. Online a
Computer Science
Sound
Scientific paper
The exploration of the Kuiper Belt is possible using serendipitous stellar occultations [1]. We conducted observations with a multi-photometer instrument at the Pic du Midi Bernard-Lyot 2-m telescope, with Ultracam at the William-Herschel Telescope (WHT) and ESO's Very Large Telescope (VLT) [2]. We detected three events. We also worked on the possibility to use the ESO guiding cameras. Tests were done on ESO's 3.6-m, 2.2-m and NTT telescopes. An Australian team [3] used the fibers spectrograph 6df in straight-through mode on the UK Schmidt telescope (UKST) with the approach of the French analysis. These observations demonstrate that a multi-fibers instrument coupled with fast acquisition is the best tool for exploring the small object population in the Outer Solar System. The optimal configuration for recording several targets simultaneously is the coupling of a fiber set on a large field, with a camera in fast photometry mode. The Paris Observatory team has pushed forward a plan in two steps : (1) The first step is to upgrade MEFOS[5], a 29 fibers spectrograph which has equipped the ESO 3.6-m telescope during 100 nights in 1993. The project is to design a new fiber link and to replace the spectrograph with a fast camera and mount it on the 1.93-m telescope at Observatoire de Haute Provence (South of France). This will provide at very short term a multi image fibre photometric instrument, at very low cost, in the Northern hemisphere. (2) The second step is to build a dedicated instrument, UltraPhot, for the UT2 unit of ESO's Very Large Telescope. This project will provide, also at short term, a very performant instrument for multi-object fast photometry in the Southern hemisphere. The association of fast photometry with a multi-fiber instrument and a 8-meters telescope provides a unique possibility to perform fast precise photometry on several targets in a large field. UltraPhot would use the same fiber positioning system as for FLAMES, a multi-object spectrograph operated on VLT/UT2, and would have access to the entire field of the Nasmyth focus (25' diameter). The number of fibers of UltraPhot will be determined as a compromise between the camera read-out frequency and the capacity of the positioning system. Our estimates are based on a total of 100 to 200 fibers for a read-out frequency of 100 Hz using a 2 color photometry mode. The expected S/N ratio could be at least 10 3 /√f, where f is the read-out frequency for a magnitude 13. Potential interested scientific fields are numerous : Exploration of Outer Solar System Objects by stellar occultations : The aim is to characterize the small end of size distribution and the outer part of the Solar System population by a collection of serendipitous events. A challenge is the possibility to explore the Oort Cloud (using this method, we estimate a 5-kilometer comet-like object can be positively detected at a distance of 10000 AU). Extrasolar Planets Transits : Ultraphot will allow follow up of the Corot/Kepler targets. High precision photometry associated with a large field of view (1/20 of the Corot Exoplanets FOV) makes Ultraphot a powerful tool to explore the transit exoplanetary systems and to detect small planets. Moreover, precise timing of transits give access to other planets in the system by their perturbations on the orbits parameters. Study of variable objects in Globular Clusters (GC) would also benefit from this instrument. Searching for rapid periodic variations of blue objects might help to identify their nature. In particular Compact Binaries (CB) including Cataclysmic Variables are predicted to be numerous in GC not only in the cores but also in their outskirts. References [1] Roques, F. et Moncuquet M. (2000) A Detection Method for the Small Kuiper Belt Objects: The Stellar Occultations. Icarus, 147, 530-544. [2] F. Roques , A. Doressoundiram et al. (2006) Small and Distant Kuiper Belt Objects revealed by Stellar occultations, AJ, 132, 819 [3] Georgevits G. (2006), Bul. Am. Astron. Soc., 38, 551. [4] F. Roques, G. Georgevits, A. Doressoundiram : The Kuiper Belt Explored by Serendipitous Stellar Occultations. In: The Solar System Beyond Neptune, ed by M. A. Barucci, H. Boehnhardt, D. P. Cruikshank, and A. Morbidelli (University of Arizona Press, Tucson,2008) pp 545-556 [5] The Performance of MEFOS, the ESO Multiobject Fibre Spectrograph, Felenbok, P., Guérin, J., Fernandez, A., Cayatte, V., Balkowski, C., Kraan-Korteweg,
Boissel Yannick
Doressoundiram Alain
Felenbok Paul
Guinouard Isabelle
Roques Françoise
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