The need for single-mode fiber-fed spectrographs. (arXiv:1901.07567v1 [astro-ph.IM])

The need for single-mode fiber-fed spectrographs. (arXiv:1901.07567v1 [astro-ph.IM])
<a href="http://arxiv.org/find/astro-ph/1/au:+Crass_J/0/1/0/all/0/1">Jonathan Crass</a>, <a href="http://arxiv.org/find/astro-ph/1/au:+Bechter_A/0/1/0/all/0/1">Andrew Bechter</a>, <a href="http://arxiv.org/find/astro-ph/1/au:+Bechter_E/0/1/0/all/0/1">Eric Bechter</a>, <a href="http://arxiv.org/find/astro-ph/1/au:+Beichman_C/0/1/0/all/0/1">Charles Beichman</a>, <a href="http://arxiv.org/find/astro-ph/1/au:+Blake_C/0/1/0/all/0/1">Cullen Blake</a>, <a href="http://arxiv.org/find/astro-ph/1/au:+Coutts_D/0/1/0/all/0/1">David Coutts</a>, <a href="http://arxiv.org/find/astro-ph/1/au:+Feger_T/0/1/0/all/0/1">Tobias Feger</a>, <a href="http://arxiv.org/find/astro-ph/1/au:+Halverson_S/0/1/0/all/0/1">Sam Halverson</a>, <a href="http://arxiv.org/find/astro-ph/1/au:+Harris_R/0/1/0/all/0/1">Robert J. Harris</a>, <a href="http://arxiv.org/find/astro-ph/1/au:+Jovanovic_N/0/1/0/all/0/1">Nemanja Jovanovic</a>, <a href="http://arxiv.org/find/astro-ph/1/au:+Plavchan_P/0/1/0/all/0/1">Peter Plavchan</a>, <a href="http://arxiv.org/find/astro-ph/1/au:+Schwab_C/0/1/0/all/0/1">Christian Schwab</a>, <a href="http://arxiv.org/find/astro-ph/1/au:+Vasisht_G/0/1/0/all/0/1">Gautam Vasisht</a>, <a href="http://arxiv.org/find/astro-ph/1/au:+Wallace_J/0/1/0/all/0/1">James K. Wallace</a>, <a href="http://arxiv.org/find/astro-ph/1/au:+Wang_J/0/1/0/all/0/1">Ji Wang</a>

Precise Doppler radial-velocity (RV) instruments will continue to play an
essential role in advancing our holistic understanding of exoplanetary systems.
The combination of orbital parameters from transit surveys and follow-up RV
measurements is vital to unlock mass and density estimates of detected planets,
giving us insight into their environment and structure. However, the exoplanet
field is reaching a critical juncture: the measurement sensitivity of existing
radial-velocity instruments is becoming the limiting factor in further
increasing our knowledge. Without improvement in delivered RV measurement
precision, we will not be able to provide dynamical mass and density estimates
for some of the most exciting (and consequently most challenging) discoveries
expected from new transit missions including the Transiting Exoplanet Survey
Satellite (TESS) (Plavchan et al. 2015, Ricker et al. 2014). RV precisions at
the 10cm/s level are required to fully confirm earth-like analogues, provide
masses and measure density to the 1-5% level from these missions. Additionally,
this RV capability will also be important to allow for efficient target
selection for facilities such as the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST). A
promising way forward to achieve this goal is to use single-mode fibers to
inject light to a spectrograph. This mitigates many of the error terms facing
current generation seeing-limited RV instruments while simultaneously offering
the capability of high resolution spectroscopy within a small optical footprint
(Schwab et al. 2012, Crepp 2014, Jovanovic et al. 2016a). We discuss the
benefits of this technique, its challenges, and the current status of
development.

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