Cupani Guido

Abstract Reference: 30770
Identifier: P1.13
Presentation: Poster presentation
Key Theme: 1 Reduction and Analysis Algorithms for Large Databases and Vice-versa

Field tests for the ESPRESSO data analysis software

Authors:
Cupani Guido, D'Odorico Valentina, Cristiani Stefano, González-Hernández Jonay, Lovis Christophe, Sousa Sérgio, Paolo Di Marcantonio, Mégevand Denis

The data analysis software (DAS) for VLT ESPRESSO is aimed to set a new benchmark in the treatment of spectroscopic data towards the extremely-large-telescope era, providing carefully designed, fully interactive recipes to take care of complex analysis operations (e.g. radial velocity estimation in stellar spectra, interpretation of the absorption features in quasar spectra). A few months away from the instrument’s first light, the DAS is now mature for science validation, with most algorithms already implemented and operational. In this talk, I will showcase the DAS features which are currently employed on high-resolution HARPS and UVES spectra to assess the scientific reliability of the recipes and their range of application. I will give a glimpse on the science that will be possible when ESPRESSO data become available, with a particular focus on the novel approach that has been adopted to simultaneously fit the emission continuum and the absorption lines in the Lyman-alpha forest of quasar spectra.