Seminars at FGG
HARPS-N, the new planet hunter for the TNG
Speaker: Francesco Pepe (University of Geneva)
Date and time: 2012-04-11 11:00
The Kepler transit search led to the discovery of thousand of new extra-solar planets candidates, which have to be characterized also by precise Doppler spectroscopy. 'Unfortunately' the northern hemisphere, from which the Kepler field is accessible, was lacking a spectrograph of the quality of HARPS to reach the sub-m/s precision even on relatively faint stars. The situation is changing, however, since in the next months the TNG will start operating a HARPS twin, the HARPS-N instrument. In my talk I will present the HARPS-N project as well as the instrument including its operation modes. HARPS-N is foreseen to have similar performances as its older brother. It is not only a planets hunter but a 'normal' high-precision and high-efficiency spectrograph. The spectroscopic stability is certainly the most important feature of HARPS-N, but I shall provide a general view of its characteristics based on the HARPS experience and on recent commissioning data.