Martin Leitzinger and Petra Odert, astrophysicists at the University of Graz, spent almost two weeks at the European Southern Observatory (ESO) in Chile testing PLATOSpec and recording initial data with the new spectrograph. It was shown that the high-resolution instrument on the ESO 1.52-metre telescope fully meets expectations and thus also further improves research conditions for the Graz-based scientists. The tests were carried out together with Robert Greimel, owner of the company of the same name for scientific software development, data analysis and instrumentation, and with the PLATOSpec consortium.
The University of Graz is a cooperation partner in this consortium, led by Petr Kabáth, a researcher at the Astronomical Institute of the Czech Academy of Sciences in Ondrejov, through a project funded by the Austrian Science Fund FWF. "In our project, we are focusing on the search and characterisation of particularly strong high-energy outbreaks of radiation – so-called Superflares – on Sun-like stars. At the same time, we are interested in their possible effects on the atmospheres of exoplanets, i.e. planets outside our solar system that orbit around these stars," Martin Leitzinger reports.
"In order to observe superflares spectroscopically, we need access to a telescope and an instrument that is sufficiently sensitive to detect the superflares. Furthermore, the search for these events is very time-consuming," explains Petra Odert. "For the current FWF project, more than 100 observing nights have been carried out at the European Southern Observatory so far. They have been provided to us by the Czech partner as part of the PLATOSpec project," says Leitzinger. During their observations, which took place before the new spectrograph was put into operation, the Graz-based astrophysicists discovered a multitude of flares and superflares on the young, active star AU Microscopii, which is orbited by at least three confirmed exoplanets. The research results were recently published in the British journal MNRAS.
The ESO 1.52-metre telescope was decommissioned in 2002 and refurbished in 2022. "The installation of PLATOSpec in 2024 laid the foundation for the renewed scientific use of one of ESO's longest-serving telescopes," says Leitzinger, emphasising the sustainable aspect of this project. PLATOSpec will support the ESA PLATO mission, scheduled for launch in 2026, from Earth. The focus is on the study of stars orbited by exoplanets. PLATOSpec will, among other things, characterise the activity of the central stars and measure the mass of the planets.
Publication
Odert, P., Leitzinger, M. , Greimel, R., Kabáth, P., Lipták, J., Heinzel, P., Karjalainen, R., Wollmann, J., Guenther, E.W., Skarka, M., Srba, J., Škoda, P., Frýda, J., Brahm, R., Vanzi, L., Janík, J.:
Spectroscopic observations of flares and superflares on AU Mic, MNRAS, in press, 2024
