An Inexpensive Field-Widened Monolithic Michelson Interferometer for Precision Radial Velocity Measurements
Suvrath Mahadevan, Jian Ge, Scott W. Fleming, Xiaoke Wan, Curtis, DeWitt, Julian C. van Eyken, Dan McDavitt

TL;DR
This paper presents a cost-effective, thermally stable monolithic Michelson interferometer designed for precise stellar radial velocity measurements, enabling easier operation and multi-object surveys for exoplanet detection.
Contribution
The authors developed and tested a monolithic, fixed-delay Michelson interferometer with off-the-shelf components, demonstrating high-precision radial velocity measurements without moving parts.
Findings
Achieved radial velocity precision of a few m/s.
Successfully integrated the interferometer with the ET instrument at Kitt Peak.
Enabled potential for large-scale, multi-object exoplanet surveys.
Abstract
We have constructed a thermally compensated field-widened monolithic Michelson interferometer that can be used with a medium-resolution spectrograph to measure precise Doppler radial velocities of stars. Our prototype monolithic fixed-delay interferometer is constructed with off-the-shelf components and assembled using a hydrolysis bonding technique. We installed and tested this interferometer in the Exoplanet Tracker (ET) instrument at the Kitt Peak 2.1m telescope, an instrument built to demonstrate the principles of dispersed fixed delay interferometry. An iodine cell allows the interferometer drift to be accurately calibrated, relaxing the stability requirements on the interferometer itself. When using our monolithic interferometer, the ET instrument has no moving parts (except the iodine cell), greatly simplifying its operation. We demonstrate differential radial velocity precision…
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