Published online by Cambridge University Press: 07 August 2017
The measurement of some physical parameters of astronomical objects can only be carried out with high resolution spectra. Unfortunately the high dispersion of the light on the detector restricts such observations to relatively bright sources. However, some spectral information can be concentrated into a single spectral “line” by a cross-correlation algorithm, allowing the observation of fainter objects. Such a technique, taken from the CORAVEL optical correlation, is presented. A complete description of the errors of the correlation function parameters is given and the minimum signal-to-noise ratio is also discussed. Finally, a short investigation of the best resolution needed to observe efficiently radial velocities and velocity broadenings is made.