Although instruments for measuring the radial velocities (RVs) of stars now routinely reach sub-metre per second accuracy, the detection of low-mass planets is still very challenging. The rotational modulation and evolution of spots and/or faculae can induce variations in the RVs at the level of a few m s–1 in Sun-like stars. To overcome this, a multidimensional Gaussian Process framework has been developed to model the stellar activity signal using spectroscopic activity indicators together with the RVs. A recently published computationally efficient implementation of this framework, S + LEAF 2, enables the rapid analysis of large samples of targets with sizeable data sets. In this work, we apply this framework to HARPS observations of 268 well-observed targets with precisely determined stellar parameters. Our long-term goal is to quantify the effectiveness of this framework to model and mitigate activity signals for stars of different spectral types and activity levels. In this first paper in the series, we initially focus on the activity indicators (S-index and Bisector Inverse Slope), and use them to (a) measure rotation periods for 49 slow rotators in our sample, (b) explore the impact of these results on the spin-down of middle-aged late F, G, and K stars, and (c) explore indirectly how the spot to facular ratio varies across our sample. Our results should provide valuable clues for planning future RV planet surveys such as the Terra Hunting Experiment or the PLATO ground-based follow-up observations programme, and help fine-tune current stellar structure and evolution models.
We present an analysis of Sun-as-a-star observations from four different high-resolution, stabilized spectrographs—HARPS, HARPS-N, EXPRES, and NEID. With simultaneous observations of the Sun from four different instruments, we are able to gain insight into the radial velocity precision and accuracy delivered by each of these instruments and isolate instrumental systematics that differ from true astrophysical signals. With solar observations, we can completely characterize the expected Doppler shift contributed by orbiting Solar System bodies and remove them. This results in a data set with measured velocity variations that purely trace flows on the solar surface. Direct comparisons of the radial velocities measured by each instrument show remarkable agreement with residual intraday scatter of only 15–30 cm s−1. This shows that current ultra-stabilized instruments have broken through to a new level of measurement precision that reveals stellar variability with high fidelity and detail. We end by discussing how radial velocities from different instruments can be combined to provide powerful leverage for testing techniques to mitigate stellar signals.
more » « less- NSF-PAR ID:
- 10465653
- Author(s) / Creator(s):
- ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; more »
- Publisher / Repository:
- DOI PREFIX: 10.3847
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- The Astronomical Journal
- Volume:
- 166
- Issue:
- 4
- ISSN:
- 0004-6256
- Format(s):
- Medium: X Size: Article No. 173
- Size(s):
- ["Article No. 173"]
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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