Variation of the fine-structure constant: very high resolution spectrum of QSO HE 0515-4414

Abstract

Aims.We present a detailed analysis of a very high resolution () spectrum of the quasar HE 0515-4414 obtained using the High Accuracy Radial velocity Planet Searcher (HARPS) mounted on the ESO 3.6 m telescope at the La Silla observatory. The main aim is to use a HARPS spectrum of very high wavelength calibration accuracy (better than 1 mÅ), to constrain the variation of and investigate any possible systematic inaccuracies in the wavelength calibration of the UV Echelle Spectrograph (UVES) mounted on the ESO Very Large Telescope (VLT).