Observations of planets and brown dwarfs: putting all the pieces together

对行星和棕矮星的观测：将所有部分放在一起

• 批准号: 418317-2012
• 负责人: Lafrenière, David
• 金额: $ 2.19万
• 依托单位: Université de Montréal
• 依托单位国家: 加拿大
• 项目类别: Discovery Grants Program - Individual
• 财政年份: 2017
• 资助国家: 加拿大
• 起止时间: 2017-01-01 至 2018-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nserc-crsng.gc.ca/ase-oro/Details-Detailles_eng.asp?id=633384
• 关键词: Observations; planets; brown; dwarfs; putting

The overall long-term objectives of my research program are to establish the prevalence and diversity of planetary systems in our galaxy, to understand how these systems form and evolve, to comprehend the physics involved in the atmosphere and interior of planets, and ultimately, to detect traces of life elsewhere in the universe. Over the next few years, I will focus on making observations to detect and characterize new planets in yet unexplored regimes of orbital separations, planet masses, star masses, and system ages. The data to be uncovered through this observational work will form the essential basis upon which all formation, evolution, interior and atmosphere models of giant planets and planetary systems will be developed and validated.Specifically, I will first participate in a direct imaging search for planets around young nearby stars with the Gemini Planet Imager. For the first time ever, this survey will detect and characterize Jupiter-mass planets with orbits the size of our solar system. Beyond establishing the frequency of giant planets at these separations, the planet sample uncovered will be sufficient to establish the global properties of this previously unseen population. Second, I will conduct a direct imaging survey for planet and brown dwarf companions to stars in star-forming regions. This will provide the first systematic and comprehensive assessment of the primordial population of giant planets at large separations, helping us understand the formation and evolution of giant planets. It will also allow determining the physical characteristics of giant planets immediately after they formed. Finally, I will lead a transit-timing survey to detect exomoons and new planets in transiting exoplanet systems. This survey could be the first to establish the existence of large satellites around exoplanets. It also bears a good potential for identifying some of the first habitable worlds, whether they are moons around giant planets or terrestrial planets in transiting systems. It will also complement other searches for Earth-mass planets and help completing the census and determining the configurations of multiple planet systems.

我的研究计划的总体长期目标是建立我们银河系中行星系统的普遍性和多样性，了解这些系统如何形成和演变，理解大气和行星内部所涉及的物理学，并最终检测宇宙中其他地方的生命痕迹。在接下来的几年里，我将集中精力进行观测，以探测和描述新行星的轨道分离，行星质量，星星质量和系统年龄等尚未探索的制度。通过这项观测工作所发现的数据将成为开发和验证巨行星和行星系统的所有形成、演化、内部和大气模型的重要基础。具体来说，我将首先参与使用双子座行星成像仪直接成像搜索年轻恒星周围的行星。有史以来第一次，这项调查将探测和描述轨道大小与我们太阳系相当的行星。除了在这些分离处确定巨行星的频率之外，发现的行星样本将足以确定这个以前看不见的人口的全球性质。其次，我将对恒星形成区的行星和褐矮星伴星进行直接成像调查。这将首次对大分离的巨行星原始种群进行系统和全面的评估，帮助我们了解巨行星的形成和演化。它还将允许在巨行星形成后立即确定它们的物理特征。最后，我将领导一项凌日计时调查，以探测凌日系外行星系统中的系外卫星和新行星。这项调查可能是第一次确定系外行星周围存在大型卫星。它也有很好的潜力来识别一些第一个可居住的世界，无论它们是巨大行星周围的卫星还是过境系统中的类地行星。它还将补充对地球质量行星的其他搜索，并帮助完成普查和确定多行星系统的配置。