Ultraviolet astronomical spectrograph calibration with laser frequency combs from nanophotonic lithium niobate waveguides
Astronomical precision spectroscopy underpins searches for life beyond Earth, direct observation of the expanding Universe and constraining the potential variability of physical constants on cosmological scales. Laser frequency combs can provide the required accurate and precise calibration to the astronomical spectrographs. For cosmological studies, extending the calibration with such astrocombs to the ultraviolet spectral range is desirable, however, strong material dispersion and large spectral separation from the established infrared laser oscillators have made this challenging. Here, we demonstrate astronomical spectrograph calibration with an astrocomb in the ultraviolet spectral range below 400 nm. This is accomplished via chip-integrated highly nonlinear photonics in periodically-poled, nano-fabricated lithium niobate waveguides in conjunction with a robust infrared electro-optic comb generator, as well as a chip-integrated microresonator comb. These results demonstrate a viable route towards astronomical precision spectroscopy in the ultraviolet and could contribute to unlock the full potential of next-generation ground-based and future space-based instruments.
Authors
- Mahmoud Gaafar (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5887-5772)
- F. Bouchy (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7613-393X)
- Davide Grassani (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5352-9627)
- Bruno Chazelas
- F. Wildi (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9216-4402)
- Luis Guillermo Villanueva (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3340-2930)
- Thibault Wildi (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0193-7132)
- Ewelina Obrzud (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9856-0484)
- Tobias M. Schmidt (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4833-7273)
- Furkan Ayhan (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6606-0709)
- Steve Lecomte (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8126-9444)
- Fuchuan Lei (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2257-7057)
- Markus Ludwig (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2109-163X)
- F. Pepe (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9815-773X)
- Thibault Voumard (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9482-9877)
- R. Sottile
- Tobias Herr (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5966-6697)
- Sylvain Karlen (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8404-6521)
- F. Moreau (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6096-2824)
- Victor Brasch (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0354-2847)
- Zhichao Ye (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4708-3582)
- Olivia Hefti (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0004-5958-2882)
- Roman Blum
Institutions
- University of Geneva (CH)
- Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (FR)
- Swiss Center for Electronics and Microtechnology (Switzerland) (CH)
- Universität Hamburg (DE)
- Aix-Marseille Université (FR)
- Observatoire de Haute-Provence (FR)
- Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron DESY (DE)
- École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (CH)
- Chalmers University of Technology (SE)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Nature Communications
- Published
- 2024-09-02
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-51560-x
- Citations
- 23
- Primary Topic
- Advanced Fiber Laser Technologies
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 7.76
Funders
- National Science Foundation
- École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne
- Schweizerischer Nationalfonds zur Förderung der Wissenschaftlichen Forschung
- Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron