Stellar Astrophysics Via Exoplanet Transits

研究人员将利用凌日行星的观测来测量恒星和系外行星的基本参数，并测量恒星-行星相互作用的高阶效应，如辐射、非球性、相位滞后和凌日时间变化。他们将利用开普勒任务提供的高精度测光技术，以及轨道动力学代码，对光曲线的测量进行建模，以约束恒星和行星结构的模型。他们还将在附近的拉古纳山天文台进行多色光度测量，以补充开普勒望远镜的单色光曲线，并最终提供更好的双星食相温度和半径测量。该提案解释说，这项工作将对该领域具有更广泛的意义，因为它将以比目前更高的精度提供恒星特性的工具和详细测量。由于行星质量和半径的不确定性最终取决于母恒星的质量和半径的确定程度，因此对恒星数据的分析和建模将对其他系外行星项目有用。研究人员还将把研究和教育结合起来，让本科生和研究生参与其中，并在课堂上讨论他们的研究。

The investigators will use observations of transiting planets in order to measure fundamental stellar and exoplanet parameters, and to measure higher-order effects of the star-planet interactions, such as irradiation, non-sphericity, phase lags, and transit timing variations. They will model measurements of light-curves using high-precision photometry provided by the Kepler mission, along with orbital dynamics codes, in order to constrain models of stellar and planetary structure. They will also perform multicolor photometry at nearby Mt. Laguna Observatory to complement the single color light curves from Kepler and ultimately provide better temperature and radii measurements of eclipsing binary stars. The proposal explains that this work will have a broader significance to the field in that it will provide tools and detailed measurements of stellar properties at a higher precision than currently available. Since uncertainty in planetary masses and radii ultimately depends on how well the parent star's mass and radius are determined, analysis and modeling of the data on the stars will be useful to other exoplanetary projects. The investigators will also integrate research and education by involving undergraduate and graduate students and discuss their research in the classroom.