Towards a new full-sky list of radial velocity standard stars

Abstract

The calibration of the Radial Velocity Spectrometer (RVS) onboard the ESA\nGaia satellite (to be launched in 2012) requires a list of standard stars with\na radial velocity (RV) known with an accuracy of at least 300 m/s. The IAU\nCommission 30 lists of RV standard stars are too bright and not dense enough.\nWe describe the selection criteria due to the RVS constraints for building an\nadequate full-sky list of at least 1000 RV standards from catalogues already\npublished in the literature. A preliminary list of 1420 candidate standard\nstars is built and its properties are shown. An important re-observation\nprogramme has been set up in order to ensure within it the selection of objects\nwith a good stability until the end of the Gaia mission (around 2018). The\npresent list of candidate standards is available at CDS and usable for many\nother projects.\n

Keywords

Affiliated Institutions

• Université de Bordeaux FR
• Observatoire de Paris FR
• University of Geneva CH
• Laboratoire d'Astrophysique de Bordeaux FR
• Observatoire astronomique de Strasbourg FR
• Observatoire Aquitain des Sciences de l'Univers FR
• Université de Montpellier FR
• Galaxies, Etoiles, Physique et Instrumentation FR
• Leibniz Institute for Astrophysics Potsdam DE

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