Exoplanet Detection Techniques

We are still in the early days of exoplanet discovery. Astronomers are beginning to model the atmospheres and interiors of exoplanets and have developed a deeper understanding of processes of planet formation and evolution. However, we have yet to map out the full complexity of multi-planet architectures or to detect Earth analogues around nearby stars. Reaching these ambitious goals will require further improvements in instrumentation and new analysis tools. In this chapter, we provide an overview of five observational techniques that are currently employed in the detection of exoplanets: optical and IR Doppler measurements, transit photometry, direct imaging, microlensing, and astrometry. We provide a basic description of how each of these techniques works and discuss forefront developments that will result in new discoveries. We also highlight the observational limitations and synergies of each method and their connections to future space missions.Comment: 24 pages, 19 figures, PPVI proceedings. Appears as 2014, Protostars and Planets VI, Henrik Beuther, Ralf S. Klessen, Cornelis P. Dullemond, and Thomas Henning (eds.), University of Arizona Press, Tucson, 914 pp., p.715-73

A 4-Planet System Orbiting the K0V Star HD 141399

We present precision radial velocity (RV) data sets from Keck-HIRES and from Lick Observatory's new Automated Planet Finder Telescope and Levy Spectrometer on Mt. Hamilton that reveal a multiple-planet system orbiting the nearby, slightly evolved, K-type star HD 141399. Our 91 observations over 10.5 years suggest the presence of four planets with orbital periods of 94.35, 202.08, 1070.35, and 3717.35 days and minimum masses of 0.46, 1.36, 1.22, and 0.69 Jupiter masses respectively. The orbital eccentricities of the three inner planets are small, and the phase curves are well sampled. The inner two planets lie just outside the 2:1 resonance, suggesting that the system may have experienced dissipative evolution during the protoplanetary disk phase. The fourth companion is a Jupiter-like planet with a Jupiter-like orbital period. Its orbital eccentricity is consistent with zero, but more data will be required for an accurate eccentricity determination.Comment: 11 pages, 13 figures, To appear in the Astrophysical Journa

Transformation of Statistics in Fractional Quantum Hall Systems

A Fermion to Boson transformation is accomplished by attaching to each Fermion a tube carrying a single quantum of flux oriented opposite to the applied magnetic field. When the mean field approximation is made in Haldane's spherical geometry, the Fermion angular momentum l_F is replaced by l_B=l_F-(N-1)/2. The set of allowed total angular momentum multiplets is identical in the two different pictures. The Fermion and Boson energy spectra in the presence of many body interactions are identical only if the pseudopotential V (interaction energy as a function of pair angular momentum L_12) increases as L_12(L_12+1). Similar bands of low energy states occur in the two spectra if V increases more quickly than this.Comment: 4 pages, 1 figure, poster at ARW in Queenstown, New Zealand (2001

The Fermion-Boson Transformation in Fractional Quantum Hall Systems

A Fermion to Boson transformation is accomplished by attaching to each Fermion a single flux quantum oriented opposite to the applied magnetic field. When the mean field approximation is made in the Haldane spherical geometry, the Fermion angular momentum $l_F$ is replaced by $l_B= l_F-{1\over2}(N-1)$. The set of allowed total angular momentum multiplets is identical in the two different pictures. The Fermion and Boson energy spectra in the presence of many body interactions are identical if and only if the pseudopotential is ``harmonic'' in form. However, similar low energy bands of states with Laughlin correlations occur in the two spectra if the interaction has short range. The transformation is used to clarify the relation between Boson and Fermion descriptions of the hierarchy of condensed fractional quantum Hall states.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figures, submitted to Physica

A Six-Planet System Around the Star HD 34445

We present a new precision radial velocity dataset that reveals a multi-planet system orbiting the G0V star HD 34445. Our 18-year span consists of 333 precision radial velocity observations, 56 of which were previously published, and 277 which are new data from Keck Observatory, Magellan at Las Campanas Observatory, and the Automated Planet Finder at Lick Observatory. These data indicate the presence of six planet candidates in Keplerian motion about the host star with periods of 1057, 215, 118, 49, 677, and 5700 days, and minimum masses of 0.63, 0.17, 0.1, 0.05, 0.12 and 0.38 Jupiter masses respectively. The HD 34445 planetary system, with its high degree of multiplicity, its long orbital periods, and its induced stellar radial velocity half-amplitudes in the range $2 \,{\rm m\, s^{-1}} \lesssim K \lesssim 5\,{\rm m\, s^{-1}}$ is fundamentally unlike either our own solar system (in which only Jupiter and Saturn induce significant reflex velocities for the Sun), or the Kepler multiple-transiting systems (which tend to have much more compact orbital configurations)Comment: 10 pages, 11 figure

Preparing Students for Team-Based Care for Vulnerable Populations

Health professionals have an obligation to improve both the health of the individual and the public in a time of scarce resources. The Institute of Medicine (IOM), Healthy People Curriculum Task Force and professional education accreditation standards indicate the need for health care professionals to demonstrate competencies related to community engagement, basic health promotion skills and the ability to work effectively in interprofessional teams. An Interprofessional Course, IPE 413: Developing Care for a Vulnerable Population provides students the opportunity to collaborate to address health needs in cooperation with a community partner. Students work in teams to address the complex health care needs of an individual community member. The one hour elective course is open to students from nursing, occupational therapy, pharmacy, social work, and exercise science. Efforts are underway to explore the possibility of offering this course to medical students. Students are assessed on the knowledge and experience gained through this interprofessional experience using the Team Skills Scale and student reflections. Faculties from each of the disciplines utilize a collaborative model in the instructional design of the course. The content is co-taught and faculty not only role model interprofessional care, but also serve as mentors and resource personnel for the students as they work with their clients

Interstellar Comets from Post-Main Sequence Systems as Tracers of Extrasolar Oort Clouds

Interstellar small bodies are unique probes into the histories of exoplanetary systems. One hypothesized class of interlopers are "Jurads," exo-comets released into the Milky Way during the post-main sequence as the thermally-pulsing asymptotic giant branch (AGB) host stars lose mass. In this study, we assess the prospects for the Legacy Survey of Space and Time (LSST) to detect a Jurad and examine whether such an interloper would be observationally distinguishable from exo-comets ejected during the (pre-)main sequence. Using analytic and numerical methods, we estimate the fraction of exo-Oort Cloud objects that are released from 1-8 solar mass stars during post-main sequence evolution. We quantify the extent to which small bodies are altered by the increased luminosity and stellar outflows during the AGB, finding that some Jurads may lack hypervolatiles and that stellar winds could deposit dust that covers the entire exo-comet surface. Next, we construct models of the interstellar small body reservoir for various size-frequency distribution slopes, characteristic sizes, and the total mass sequestered in the minor planets of exo-Oort Clouds. Even with the LSST's increased search volume compared to contemporary surveys, we find that detecting a Jurad is unlikely but not infeasible given the current understanding of (exo)planet formation.Comment: 28 pages, 13 figures; accepted to PS