A new method measures radial velocities of the Sun-like star 66 G. Centauri

Star system: 66 G. Centauri A | Distance from the Sun: 30.4 light years

A new approach has been developed to measure the movement of stars by analyzing their light in detail. This method does not rely on a reference template, which can sometimes introduce errors, especially when the data is not perfect. It is designed to work with different types of stars and instruments, making it flexible for various astronomical studies.

The method, called TILARA (Template-Independent Line-by-line Algorithm for Radial velocity Analysis), uses a carefully selected list of absorption lines in a star's spectrum to automatically measure their positions. By comparing these measurements with a reference list, TILARA calculates how the star moves toward or away from us, a process known as radial velocity measurement. The method includes ways to handle unusual data points, either by removing them or reducing their influence, to ensure accurate results. TILARA was tested on over 500 observations of the Sun-like star 66 G. Centauri (HD 102365) and compared with other existing methods.

The results showed that TILARA provides similar accuracy and reliability as traditional methods, even when using different approaches to handle outliers. This makes it a valuable tool for future studies, especially when creating a reference template is not possible or recommended.

Key findings
- TILARA is a template-independent method for measuring stellar radial velocities.
- The method was successfully applied to 520 observations of the Sun-like star 66 G. Centauri.
- TILARA's results are comparable in accuracy to established radial velocity extraction methods.

Scientific study

TILARA: Template-Independent Line-by-line Algorithm for Radial velocity Analysis. I. Description of the code and application on a Sun-like star (external link)