Binary star systems and extrasolar planets

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Physics, 2005.Includes bibliographical references (p. 121-137).For ten years, planets around stars similar to the Sun have been discovered, confirmed, and their properties studied. Planets have been found in a variety of environments previously thought impossible. The results have revolutionized the way in which scientists understand planet and star formation and evolution, and provide context for the roles of the Earth and our own solar system. Over half of star systems contain more than one stellar component. Despite this, binary stars have often been avoided by programs searching for planets. Discovery of giant planets in compact binary systems would indirectly probe the timescales of planet formation, an important quantity in determining by which processes planets form. A new observing method has been developed to perform very high precision differntial astrometry on bright binary stars with separations in the range of 0.1 - 1.0 arcseconds. Typical measurement precisions over an hour of integration are on the order of 10 micro-arcseconds (as), enabling one to look for perturbations to the Keplerian orbit that would indicate the presence of additional components to the system. This method is used as the basis for a new program to find extrasolar planets. The Palomar High-precision Astrometric Search for Exoplanet Systems (PHASES) is a search for giant planets orbiting either star in 50 binary systems. The goal of this search is to detect or rule out planets in the systems observed and thus place limits on any enhancements of planet formation in binaries. It is also used to measure fundamental properties of the stars comprising the binary, such as masses and distances, useful for constraining stellar models at the 10-3 level.(cont.) This method of differential astrometry is applied to three star systems. Equulei is among the most well-studied nearby binary star systems. Results of its observation have been applied to a wide range of fundamental studies of binary systems and stellar astrophysics. PHASES data are combined with previously published radial velocity data and other previously published differential astrometry measurements to produce a combined model for the system orbit. The distance to the system is determined to within a twentieth of a parsec and the component masses are determined at the level of a percent. n Pegasi is a well-known, nearby triple star system consisting of a "wide" pair with semi-major axis 235 milli-arcseconds, one component of which is a single-line spectroscopic binary (semi-major axis 2.5 milli-arcseconds). Using high-precision differential astrometry and radial velocity observations, the masses for all three components are determined and the relative inclination between the wide and narrow pairs' orbits is found to be 43.8 ± 3.0 degrees, just over the threshold for the three body Kozai resonance. The system distance is determined to a fifth of a parsec, and is consistent with trigonometric parallax measurements. V819 Herculis is a well-studied triple star system consisting of a "wide" pair with 5.5 year period, one component of which is a 2.2-day period eclipsing single-line spectroscopic binary. Differential astrometry measurements from PHASES determine the relative inclination of the short- and long-period orbits. Finally, the prospects for finding planets that simultaneously circle both stars in a binary system are evaluated. Planet searches of this type would represent a complementary investigation to PHASES and contribute similar scientific results.by Matthew Ward Muterspaugh.Ph.D

TEDI: the TripleSpec Exoplanet Discovery Instrument

The TEDI (TripleSpec - Exoplanet Discovery Instrument) will be the first instrument fielded specifically for finding low-mass stellar companions. The instrument is a near infra-red interferometric spectrometer used as a radial velocimeter. TEDI joins Externally Dispersed Interferometery (EDI) with an efficient, medium-resolution, near IR (0.9 - 2.4 micron) echelle spectrometer, TripleSpec, at the Palomar 200" telescope. We describe the instrument and its radial velocimetry demonstration program to observe cool stars.Comment: 6 Pages, To Appear in SPIE Volume 6693, Techniques and Instrumentation for Detection of Exoplanets II

Theia: Faint objects in motion or the new astrometry frontier

In the context of the ESA M5 (medium mission) call we proposed a new satellite mission, Theia, based on relative astrometry and extreme precision to study the motion of very faint objects in the Universe. Theia is primarily designed to study the local dark matter properties, the existence of Earth-like exoplanets in our nearest star systems and the physics of compact objects. Furthermore, about 15 $\%$ of the mission time was dedicated to an open observatory for the wider community to propose complementary science cases. With its unique metrology system and "point and stare" strategy, Theia's precision would have reached the sub micro-arcsecond level. This is about 1000 times better than ESA/Gaia's accuracy for the brightest objects and represents a factor 10-30 improvement for the faintest stars (depending on the exact observational program). In the version submitted to ESA, we proposed an optical (350-1000nm) on-axis TMA telescope. Due to ESA Technology readiness level, the camera's focal plane would have been made of CCD detectors but we anticipated an upgrade with CMOS detectors. Photometric measurements would have been performed during slew time and stabilisation phases needed for reaching the required astrometric precision

Theia: Faint objects in motion or the new astrometry frontier

In the context of the ESA M5 (medium mission) call we proposed a new satellite mission, Theia, based on relative astrometry and extreme precision to study the motion of very faint objects in the Universe. Theia is primarily designed to study the local dark matter properties, the existence of Earth-like exoplanets in our nearest star systems and the physics of compact objects. Furthermore, about 15 $\%$ of the mission time was dedicated to an open observatory for the wider community to propose complementary science cases. With its unique metrology system and "point and stare" strategy, Theia's precision would have reached the sub micro-arcsecond level. This is about 1000 times better than ESA/Gaia's accuracy for the brightest objects and represents a factor 10-30 improvement for the faintest stars (depending on the exact observational program). In the version submitted to ESA, we proposed an optical (350-1000nm) on-axis TMA telescope. Due to ESA Technology readiness level, the camera's focal plane would have been made of CCD detectors but we anticipated an upgrade with CMOS detectors. Photometric measurements would have been performed during slew time and stabilisation phases needed for reaching the required astrometric precision