Introduction

Ristretto project #

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RISTRETTO is an instrumental project to detect the reflected light of nearby exoplanets using the spectroscopic coronagraphy technique.

Once ready this instrument will be proposed as a visitor instrument for the ESO VLT facility.

In the first phase a single-mode high-resolution spectrograph with 7 spaxels will be built and tested on the Euler 1.2m telescope in La Silla with the KalAO adaptive optics system.

High-contrast imaging in the visible #

In order to achieve its goal, the instrument needs a XAO system in the visible giving at the same time the highest possible Strehl (to efficiently couple to the single-mode fibers that feed the spectrograph) and a high raw contrast in order to be able to detect the planet light. The average target value for the contrast is 10-4.

High-resolution spectrograph #

In order to achieve the required total contrast (in the 10-7 range) to detect the reflected light of the planet one will use a high-resolution spectrograph coupled to an integral-field unit in order to locate the planet. The additional gain in contrast is obtained thanks to the radial velocity difference between the planet and its host star.

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