English

Precision Millimeter Astrometry of the $\alpha$ Centauri AB System

Solar and Stellar Astrophysics 2021-06-23 v2 Earth and Planetary Astrophysics

Abstract

α\alpha 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\alpha 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\alpha Cen system. These lead to an improved knowledge of the physical properties of both α\alpha 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.

Keywords

Cite

@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

R2 v1 2026-06-24T01:22:30.281Z