Refining the Radii of Exoplanet Host Stars

开普勒太空任务已经发现，从地球上看，有数千颗行星从它们环绕的恒星前面经过或凌日。然而，我们只能了解这些系外行星的特性（比如大小），因为它们与它们所围绕的恒星进行了比较。因此，我们正确地测量和理解这些恒星的特性是非常重要的。天文学家用来研究恒星这些特性的方法可能会导致一定程度的误差，从而影响我们关于系外行星的信息。这个项目结合了盖亚宇宙飞船任务的数据和夏威夷望远镜的数据，首次对太阳等恒星和绕轨道运行的行星进行了统一的描述。这项研究的结果将改进我们对系外行星本身的研究。这个项目通过促进我们对系外行星和地球外生命潜力的了解来服务于国家利益。大学生将参与这项研究。此外，首席研究员将公开介绍夏威夷地面望远镜的研究如何帮助研究从开普勒和盖亚等太空任务中获得的数据。目前对系外行星数量的解释主要取决于对其主恒星特征的能力。用于确定恒星性质的传统技术对于类太阳恒星来说是不确定的。超过99%的开普勒系外行星的半径精度受到宿主恒星半径不确定性的限制，其不确定性平均在20-30%之间。该项目将首次获得所有开普勒系外行星宿主恒星和开普勒母行星样本的均匀和准确特征。这些特性将用于探索小型开普勒系外行星的可居住性和组成，并为系外行星的发生率作为恒星演化的函数提供首次见解。

The Kepler space mission has found thousands of planets that pass in front of -- or transit -- the stars that they orbit, as seen from Earth. We can, however, only learn about the properties of these exoplanets (such as size) as they are compared to the stars that they orbit. It is therefore very important that we measure and understand the properties of these stars correctly. The methods that astronomers have used to study these properties of stars can lead to levels of error that affect our information about the exoplanets. This project combines data from the Gaia spacecraft mission with data taken from telescopes in Hawaii to make the first uniform characterization of the stars like the Sun with orbiting planets. The results of this study will then improve our studies of the exoplanets themselves. This project serves the national interest by promoting the progress of our understanding of exoplanets and the potential for life beyond Earth. University students will work on this research. In addition, the Principal Investigator will make public presentations about how the research done on ground-based telescopes in Hawaii helps to study the data acquired from space-based missions such as Kepler and Gaia.Current interpretation of the exoplanet population critically hinges on the ability to characterize their host stars. Traditional techniques used to determine stellar properties are uncertain for solar-type stars. The radius precision for over 99% of all Kepler exoplanets is limited by the uncertainties in the radii of the host stars, which are on average between 20-30%. This project will derive the first homogeneous and accurate characterization of all Kepler exoplanet host stars and the Kepler parent sample. These properties will be used to explore the habitability and compositions of small Kepler exoplanets as well as provide first insights into the occurrence rates of exoplanets as a function of stellar evolution.