Direct detection and characterization of exoplanetary systems

University Of California-Berkeley, Berkeley CA

Investigators

Abstract

Searching for planets around other stars is an extremely difficult technical endeavor, yet the scientific benefits include understanding the circumstances that led to the development of life on Earth and estimating the number of planetary systems that resemble our own solar system. This project exploits the latest technical advances in astronomical methods to obtain images of Jupiter-like planets that may orbit a sample of 600 stars very close to the Sun. This survey for planetary systems will also map the locations of asteroid and comet belts in other planetary systems. It will also help identify nearby stars that should be targeted by future searches for smaller planets located in the habitable zones around these nearby stars. Graduate and undergraduate students will participate in all phases of this work. The cornerstone of the project is a 600-star, three-year, direct-imaging survey to be conducted with the recently commissioned Gemini Planet Imager at the Gemini South 8-meter telescope. The architectures of planetary systems beyond 5 AU will be probed, a region that is mostly inaccessible by transit and RV techniques. The team will also obtain follow-up observations at other facilities such as HST, Keck and ALMA. The key deliverables are: (a) multi-epoch astrometric measurements of directly detected exoplanets in order to calculate their orbital elements, (b) high resolution maps of the spatial distribution of dust grains associated with the collisional erosion of planetesimals in debris disks, and (c) analytic and numerical tools to infer the past, present and future dynamical interactions between planets and planetesimals.