EXPRES: A Next Generation RV Spectrograph in the Search for Earth-like Worlds

TL;DR

EXPRES is a highly precise optical spectrograph designed to detect Earth-like exoplanets around Sun-like stars, achieving measurement precision better than 30 cm/s through advanced design and calibration.

Contribution

This paper details the design, error budget, and optomechanical features of EXPRES, a next-generation spectrograph aimed at improving exoplanet detection capabilities.

Findings

Achieves instrumental precision of 15 cm/s

Design incorporates advanced optomechanical and environmental controls

Aims for on-sky measurement precision better than 30 cm/s

Abstract

The EXtreme PREcision Spectrograph (EXPRES) is an optical fiber fed echelle instrument being designed and built at the Yale Exoplanet Laboratory to be installed on the 4.3-meter Discovery Channel Telescope operated by Lowell Observatory. The primary science driver for EXPRES is to detect Earth-like worlds around Sun-like stars. With this in mind, we are designing the spectrograph to have an instrumental precision of 15 cm/s so that the on-sky measurement precision (that includes modeling for RV noise from the star) can reach to better than 30 cm/s. This goal places challenging requirements on every aspect of the instrument development, including optomechanical design, environmental control, image stabilization, wavelength calibration, and data analysis. In this paper we describe our error budget, and instrument optomechanical design.