Related papers: Towards sub-microarcsecond models for relativistic…
Sky survey telescopes and powerful targeted telescopes play complementary roles in astronomy. In order to investigate the nature and characteristics of the motions of very faint objects, a flexibly-pointed instrument capable of high…
Microlensing consists in two major effects: (1) variation in the apparent position of the background sources (astrometric component) and (2) flux variations of the background sources (photometric component). While the latter has been…
General relativistic deflection of light by mass, dipole, and quadrupole moments of gravitational field of a moving massive planet in the Solar system is derived. All terms of order 1 microarcsecond are taken into account, parametrized, and…
We survey the theory and experimental tests for the propagation of cosmic rays in the Galaxy up to energies of 10^15 eV. A guide to the previous reviews and essential literature is given, followed by an exposition of basic principles. The…
The European Gaia astrometry mission is due for launch in 2011. Gaia will rely on the proven principles of ESA's Hipparcos mission to create an all-sky survey of about one billion stars throughout our Galaxy and beyond, by observing all…
In real telescopes, the optical parameters evolve with time, and the degradation is often not uniform. This introduces variations in the image profile and therefore photo-centre displacements which, unless corrected, may result in…
High-precision astrometry at the sub-microarcsecond level opens up a window to study Earth-like planets in the habitable zones of Sun-like stars, and to determine their masses. It thus promises to play an important role in exoplanet science…
Astrometry at centimeter wavelengths using Very Long Baseline Interferometry is approaching accuracies of ~1 uas for the angle between a target and a calibrator source separated by <1 degree on the sky. The BeSSeL Survey and the Japanese…
The global astrometric observations of a GAIA-like satellite were modeled within the PPN formulation of Post-Newtonian gravitation. An extensive experimental campaign based on realistic end-to-end simulations was conducted to establish the…
Astrometry is a powerful technique in astrophysics to measure three-dimensional positions of stars and other astrophysical objects, including exoplanets and the gravitational influence they have on each other. Interferometric astrometry is…
In the last years the direct measurement of cosmic rays received a push forward by the possibility of conducting experiments on board long duration balloon flights, satellites and on the International Space Station. The increase in the…
Gravitational waves (GWs) cause the apparent position of distant stars to oscillate with a characteristic pattern on the sky. Astrometric measurements (e.g. those made by Gaia) therefore provide a new way to search for GWs. The main…
We use methods of differential astrometry to construct a small field inertial reference frame stable at the micro-arcsecond level. Such a high level of astrometric precision can be expected with the end-of-mission standard errors to be…
The Galactic center offers us a unique opportunity to test General Relativity (GR) with the orbits of stars around a supermassive black hole. Observations of these stars have been one of the great successes of adaptive optics on 8-10 m…
Gravitational-wave detectors with sensitivities sufficient to measure the radiation from astrophysical sources are rapidly coming into existence. By the end of this decade, there will exist several ground-based instruments in North America,…
Relativistic positioning systems are interesting {\em technical objects} for applications around the Earth and in the Solar system. But above all else, they are basic {\em scientific objects} allowing developing relativity from its own…
Since its emergence two decades ago, astrophotonics has found broad application in scientific instruments at many institutions worldwide. The case for astrophotonics becomes more compelling as telescopes push for AO-assisted,…
A selection of astrometric catalogues are presented in three tables for respectively positions, proper motions and trigonometric parallaxes. The tables contain characteristics of each catalogue showing the evolution in optical astrometry,…
The Gaia all-sky astrometric survey is challenged by several issues affecting the spacecraft stability. Amongst them, we find the focus evolution, straylight and basic angle variations Contrary to pre-launch expectations, the image quality…
The last decade lead to major progress in asteroseismology and stellar physics with the advent of space missions. Thanks to the richness and precision of current oscillation spectra, sophisticated seismic probing techniques allow us now to…