Characterization of extrasolar planets using high-precision polarimetry

使用高精度偏振测量法表征太阳系外行星

• 批准号: DP140100121
• 负责人: Prof Jeremy Bailey
• 金额: $ 2.37万
• 依托单位: The University of New South Wales
• 依托单位国家: 澳大利亚
• 项目类别: Discovery Projects
• 财政年份: 2014
• 资助国家: 澳大利亚
• 起止时间: 2014-01-01 至 2015-08-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://dataportal.arc.gov.au/RGS/Web/Grants/DP140100121
• 关键词: Characterization; extrasolar; planets; using; precision

Close to a thousand exoplanets have been found since the discovery of a planet around a Sun-like star, 51 Peg in 1995. With the Kepler space telescope, we are now capable of finding Earth-size worlds around other stars. But how do we know if these Earth-like planets have all the right ingredients for life like ours to flourish? Polarimetry is a powerful method of exoplanet characterisation that could one day answer such questions and can be applied, right now, to the giant planets. An innovative, portable polarimeter will be developed, that will be used to understand the atmospheric composition of exoplanets. Polarimetry is a promising method, which in the future may be the first method that can detect liquid water on extrasolar planets.

自从1995年发现一颗行星围绕着一颗类似太阳的星星51 Peg以来，已经发现了近1000颗系外行星。有了开普勒太空望远镜，我们现在能够发现其他恒星周围的地球大小的世界。但是我们怎么知道这些类地行星是否拥有像我们这样的生命蓬勃发展的所有正确成分呢？偏振测量是一种描述系外行星特征的强大方法，有一天可以回答这些问题，现在可以应用于巨行星。将开发一种创新的便携式偏振计，用于了解系外行星的大气成分。旋光法是一种很有前途的方法，将来可能是第一种可以探测太阳系外行星上液态水的方法。