The relative calibration of radial velocity for LAMOST medium resolution stellar spectra

The Large Sky Area Multi-Object Fiber Spectroscopic Telescope (LAMOST) started a median-resolution spectroscopic (MRS, R ∼7500) survey since October 2018. The main scientific goals of MRS, including binary stars, pulsators and other variable stars, were launched with a time-domain spectroscopic survey. However, the systematic errors, including the bias induced from wavelength calibration and the systematic difference between different spectrographs, have to be carefully considered during radial velocity measurement. In this work, we provide a technique to correct the systematics in the wavelength calibration based on the relative radial velocity measurements from LAMOST MRS spectra. We show that, for the stars with multi-epoch spectra, the systematic bias which is induced from the exposures on different nights can be corrected well for LAMOST MRS in each spectrograph. In addition, the precision of radial velocity zero-point of multi-epoch time-domain observations reaches below 0.5 km s−1. As a by-product, we also give the constant star candidates**, which can be the secondary radial-velocity standard star candidates of LAMOST MRS time-domain surveys.

EXPRESS: Calibration of the SHERLOC Deep Ultraviolet Fluorescence–Raman Spectrometer on the Perseverance Rover

We describe the wavelength calibration of the spectrometer for the Scanning Habitable Environments with Raman and Luminescence for Organics and Chemicals (SHERLOC) instrument onboard NASA’s Perseverance Rover. SHERLOC utilizes deep-UV Raman and fluorescence (DUV R/F) spectroscopy to enable analysis of samples from the martian surface. SHERLOC employs a 248.6 nm deep UV laser to generate Raman scattered photons and native fluorescence emission photons from near-surface material to detect and classify chemical and mineralogical compositions. The collected photons are focused on a charge-coupled device (CCD) and the data are returned to Earth for analysis. The compact DUV R/F spectrometer has a spectral range from 249.9 nm to 353.6 nm (~200 cm-1 to 12000 cm^−1) (with a spectral resolution of 0.296 nm (∼40 cm^−1)). The compact spectrometer uses a custom design to project a high-resolution Raman spectrum and a low-resolution fluorescence spectrum on a single CCD. The natural spectral separation enabled by deep UV excitation enables wavelength separation of the Raman/fluorescence spectra. The SHERLOC spectrometer was designed to optimize the resolution of the Raman spectral region and the wavelength range of the fluorescence region. The resulting illumination on the CCD is curved, requiring a segmented, non-linear wavelength calibration in order to understand the mineralogy and chemistry of martian materials.

The SPIRou wavelength calibration for precise radial velocities in the near infrared

Aims. SPIRou is a near-infrared (nIR) spectropolarimeter at the CFHT, covering the YJHK nIR spectral bands (980−2350 nm). We describe the development and current status of the SPIRou wavelength calibration in order to obtain precise radial velocities (RVs) in the nIR. Methods. We make use of a UNe hollow-cathode lamp and a Fabry-Pérot étalon to calibrate the pixel-wavelength correspondence for SPIRou. Different methods are developed for identifying the hollow-cathode lines, for calibrating the wavelength dependence of the Fabry-Pérot cavity width, and for combining the two calibrators. Results. The hollow-cathode spectra alone do not provide a sufficiently accurate wavelength solution to meet the design requirements of an internal error of < 0.45 m s−1, for an overall RV precision of 1 m s−1. However, the combination with the Fabry-Pérot spectra allows for significant improvements, leading to an internal error of ∼0.15 m s−1. We examine the inter-night stability, intra-night stability, and impact on the stellar RVs of the wavelength solution.