Related papers: From Espresso to Codex
The spectrograph ESPRESSO recently obtained a limit on the variation of the fine-structure constant, $\alpha$, through measurements along the line of sight of a bright quasar with a precision of $1.36$ ppm at $1\sigma$ level. This imposes…
Building on the experience of the high-resolution community with the suite of VLT high-resolution spectrographs, which has been tremendously successful, we outline here the (science) case for a high-fidelity, high-resolution spectrograph…
High-precision high-fidelity spectrographs are the most powerful instruments for exoplanets detection and characterization. The sub-m/s radial-velocity precision, required to detect Earth-mass exoplanets, necessitates tackling all the…
Espresso is a novel acceleration model for Ultra-High-Energy Cosmic Rays (UHECRs), where lower-energy CRs produced in supernova remnants experience a one-shot reacceleration in the relativistic jets of powerful Active Galactic Nuclei (AGNs)…
Under the assumption that the variations of parameters of nature and the current acceleration of the universe are related and governed by the evolution of a single scalar field, we show how information can be obtained on the nature of dark…
We propose that ultra-high-energy (UHE) cosmic rays (CRs) above $10^{18}$eV are produced in relativistic jets of powerful active galactic nuclei via an original mechanism, which we dub "espresso" acceleration: "seed" galactic CRs with…
There is a growing interest in astrophysical tests of the stability of dimensionless fundamental couplings, such as the fine-structure constant $\alpha$, as an optimal probe of new physics. The imminent arrival of the ESPRESSO spectrograph…
Precision measurements of nature's fundamental couplings and a first measurement of the cosmological redshift drift are two of the key targets for future high-resolution ultra-stable spectrographs such as CODEX. Being able to do both gives…
The observational evidence for the recent acceleration of the universe shows that canonical theories of cosmology and particle physics are incomplete and that new physics is out there, waiting to be discovered. A compelling task for…
The detection and characterisation of other "Earths", orbiting other suns, is a bold objective of present-day astrophysics. However, this quest is severely challenged by astrophysical "noise" from the host stars, whose signatures distort…
The high resolution spectrograph ESPRESSO on the VLT allows measurements of fundamental constants at unprecedented precision and hence enables tests for spacetime variations predicted by some theories. In a series of recent papers, we…
Dynamical scalar fields in an effective four-dimensional field theory are naturally expected to couple to the rest of the theory's degrees of freedom, unless some new symmetry is postulated to suppress these couplings. In particular, a…
In the espresso scenario, ultra-high-energy (UHE) cosmic rays (CRs) are produced via a one-shot reacceleration of galactic-like CRs in the relativistic jets of active galactic nuclei, independently of the scattering rate dictated by…
Achieving a truly accurate wavelength calibration of high-dispersion echelle spectrographs is a challenging task but crucially needed for certain science cases, e.g. to test for a possible variation of the fine-structure constant in quasar…
The primary instrument of the proposed EXIST mission is a coded mask high energy telescope (the HET), that must have a wide field of view and extremely good sensitivity. It will be crucial to minimize systematic errors so that even for very…
With a view to provide a user-friendly interface for designing, training and developing deep learning frameworks, we have developed Expresso, a GUI tool written in Python. Expresso is built atop Caffe, the open-source, prize-winning…
Observing at the VLT Coude focus can boost the collecting area by combining light from multiple VLT unit telescopes (UTs; albeit with some losses in the light train). An instrument at the Coude enjoys significant operational flexibility…
Over the past 18 months we have revisited the science requirements for a multi-object spectrograph (MOS) for the European Extremely Large Telescope (E-ELT). These efforts span the full range of E-ELT science and include input from a broad…
The study of extrasolar planets has rapidly expanded to encompass the search for new planets, measurements of sizes and masses, models of planetary interiors, planetary demographics and occurrence frequencies, the characterization of…
We introduce the RISTRETTO instrument for ESO VLT, an evolution from the original idea of connecting the SPHERE high-contrast facility to the ESPRESSO spectrograph (Lovis et al 2017). RISTRETTO is an independent, AO-fed spectrograph…