Reaching cm/s radial velocity accuracy with the next generation of Astrocombs

Almost two decades ago, the idea emerged to use Laser Frequency Combs as ideal calibrators for astronomical spectrographs. The first generation of Astrocombs however struggle with reliability issues and limited wavelength range. Since then new technologies such as electro-optic components, microresonators and waveguide based frequency multiplication have matured. Those recent advances have the potential to overcome the limitations of the first generation of Astrocombs. Photonic chip based systems, will allow compact monolithic assemblies, ultra-wide bandwidth from the UV to the NIR with up to THz tunable line spacing and frequency broadening at low pulse energies. This will enable the next generation of Astrocombs. Several prototype developments by ESO and other observatories, exploring different technological avenues, show promising results in terms of stability and wavelength coverage. The science cases of future instrument, such as the search for Earth-like exoplanets and the direct measurement of speculated variations in cosmological constants need a cm/s level accuracy of the calibration. This can only be achieved with the next generation of Astrocombs I will discuss recent advances, prototyping results and potential future developments.