Related papers: Pushing the precision limit of ground-based eclips…
The familiar tools of Fourier analysis and Fisher matrices are applied to derive the uncertainties on photometric, astrometric, and weak-lensing measurements of stars and galaxies in real astronomical images. Many effects or functions that…
Solar contamination, due to moonlight and atmospheric scattering of sunlight, can cause systematic errors in stellar radial velocity (RV) measurements that significantly detract from the ~10cm/s sensitivity required for the detection and…
Detecting and confirming terrestrial planets is incredibly difficult due to their tiny size and mass relative to Sun-like host stars. However, recent instrumental advancements are making the detection of Earth-like exoplanets…
Accurate measurements of the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) anisotropy call for high precision and reliability of the in-flight calibration. For extended surveys the CMB dipole provides an excellent calibration source at frequencies…
Cosmological observations from ground at millimetre and sub-millimetre wavelengths are affected by atmospheric absorption and consequent emission. The low and high frequency (sky noise) fluctuations of atmospheric performance imply careful…
A next generation of space-based observatories aims to detect and characterize potentially Earth-like exoplanets around Sun-like stars using reflected light spectroscopy. However, it remains unclear how such direct imaging…
Ground-based ultra-high contrast imaging, as required for direct imaging of exoplanets and other solar systems, is limited by difficulty of separating the planetary emission from the effects of optical aberrations that are not compensated…
We investigate the possiblity to detect Earth-like planets, in the visible and the near infrared domains, with ground based Extremely Large Telescopes equipped with adaptive systems capable of providing high Strehl ratios. From a detailed…
We discuss different methods for phenomenological approximations of signals with (generally) irregularly spaced arguments. Such signals may be classified as periodic, multi-periodic, quasi-periodic (cyclic), burst-type and flicker-type (see…
The millimeter/sub-millimeter (mm/sub-mm) sky remains a rich but under-explored frontier for transient and variable phenomena. A wide-field, high-sensitivity instrument with a large aperture and degree-scale field of view would open this…
The quality of CMB observations has improved dramatically in the last few years, and will continue to do so in the coming decade. Over a wide range of angular scales, the uncertainty due to instrumental noise is now small compared to the…
We present an approach that significantly increases the sensitivity for finding and tracking small and fast near Earth asteroids (NEA's). This approach relies on a combined use of a new generation of high-speed cameras which allow short,…
Time-dependent and systematic variations in band gain and central frequencies of instruments used to study the Cosmic Microwave Background are important factors in the data-to-map analysis pipeline. If not properly characterized, they could…
High precision lightcurves combined with eclipse mapping techniques can reveal the horizontal and vertical structure of a planet's thermal emission and the dynamics of hot Jupiters. Someday, they even may reveal the surface maps of rocky…
Astrometry is one of the oldest branches of astronomy which measures the position, the proper motion and parallax of celestial objects. Following the Hipparcos and Gaia missions that have measured several billions of them using global…
We briefly describe the methods used in compiling a set of high galactic latitude background data. The characteristics and limitations of the data which affect their use as a template for analysing extended objects are described. We briefly…
Astrometric issues for solar system studies are discussed. An overview gives references and cover all aspects of the solar system where astrometry is important: orbits of planets, moons, asteroids and NEOs, masses of asteroids, occultations…
Stochastic gravitational-wave backgrounds can be of either cosmological or astrophysical origin. The detection of an astrophysical stochastic gravitational-wave background with ground-based interferometers is expected in the near future.…
Much of transiting exoplanet science relies on high-precision photometry. The current generation of instruments can exhibit sensitivity variations greater than the astrophysical signals. For the InfraRed Array Camera (IRAC) on the Spitzer…
The theory of remote sensing shows that observing a planet at multiple phase angles ($\alpha$) is a powerful strategy to characterize its atmosphere. Here, we analyse how the information contained in reflected-starlight spectra of…