α Centauri A is the closest solar-type star to the Sun and offers the best opportunity to find and ultimately to characterize an Earth-sized planet located in its Habitable Zone (HZ). Here we describe initial results from an ALMA program to search for planets in the α Cen AB system using differential astrometry at millimeter wavelengths. Our initial results include new absolute astrometric measurements of the proper motion, orbital motion, and parallax of the α Cen system. These lead to an improved knowledge of the physical properties of both α Cen A and B. Our estimates of ALMA's relative astrometric precision suggest that we will ultimately be sensitive to planets of a few 10s of Earth mass in orbits from 1-3 AU, where stable orbits are thought to exist.
@article{arxiv.2104.10086,
title = {Precision Millimeter Astrometry of the $\alpha$ Centauri AB System},
author = {Rachel Akeson and Charles Beichman and Pierre Kervella and Edward Fomalont and G. Fritz Benedict},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2104.10086},
year = {2021}
}
Comments
24 pages, 11 figures. Accepted for publication in the Astronomical Journal. Full versions of Tables 6, 7 and 12 available in the source material