Direct detection and characterization of exoplanetary systems

在其他恒星周围寻找行星是一项极其困难的技术奋进，但科学上的好处包括了解导致地球上生命发展的环境，并估计类似于我们太阳系的行星系统的数量。 该项目利用天文学方法的最新技术进展，获取可能围绕600颗非常靠近太阳的恒星运行的类彗星行星的图像。 这项行星系统的调查还将绘制其他行星系统中小行星和彗星带的位置。 它还将有助于识别附近的恒星，这些恒星应该成为未来搜索位于这些附近恒星周围可居住区的较小行星的目标。 研究生和本科生将参与这项工作的所有阶段，该项目的基石是利用最近委托的双子座南8米望远镜的双子座行星成像仪进行为期三年的600颗星星直接成像调查。 5 Au以外行星系统的结构将被探测，这是一个大多无法通过凌日和RV技术到达的区域。 该小组还将在HST、Keck和阿尔马等其他设施进行后续观察。 主要交付成果是：（a）对直接探测到的系外行星进行多时期天体测量，以计算其轨道要素，（B）与碎片盘中微行星碰撞侵蚀有关的尘埃颗粒空间分布的高分辨率地图，（c）推断行星和微行星之间过去、现在和未来动态相互作用的分析和数字工具。

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.