Related papers: Multi-Aperture Imaging of Extrasolar Planetary Sys…
The field of extrasolar planets is still, in comparison with other astrophysical topics, in its infancy. There have been about 300 or so extrasolar planets detected and their detection has been accomplished by various different techniques.…
Optical long baseline interferometry was recently established as a technique capable of resolving stars and their circumstellar environments at the milliarcsecond (mas) resolution level. This high-resolution opens an entire new window to…
We present first results of an exploratory study to use integral field spectroscopy to observe extrasolar planets. We focus on transiting "Hot Jupiters" and emphasize the importance of observing strategy and exact timing. We demonstrate how…
Optical interferometry has been successful at achieving milliarcsecond resolution on bright stars. Imaging performance can improve greatly by increasing the number of baselines, which has motivated proposals to build large (~ 100 m) optical…
We study the sensitivities of space infrared interferometers. We formulate the signal-to-noise ratios of infrared images obtained by aperture synthesis in the presence of source shot noise, background shot noise and detector read noise. We…
The last two decades have seen remarkable progress in our long-standing goal of determining the abundance and diversity of worlds in the Galaxy. Understanding of this subject involves tracing the path of interstellar material from dense…
We show that distances of objects at cosmological distances can be measured directly using interferometry. Our approach to interferometric parallax comes from analysis of 4-point amplitude and intensity correlations that can be generated…
The detection of lower mass planets now being reported via radial velocity and microlensing surveys suggests that they may be ubiquitous. If missions such as Kepler are able to confirm this, the detection and study of rocky planets via…
Proxima b is our nearest potentially rocky exoplanet and represents a formidable opportunity for exoplanet science and possibly astrobiology. With an angular separation of only 35~mas (or 0.05~AU) from its host star, Proxima b is however…
One of the persistent complications in searches for transiting exoplanets is the low percentage of the detected candidates that ultimately prove to be planets, which significantly increases the load on the telescopes used for the follow-up…
Microlensing has proven to be a valuable tool to search for extrasolar planets of Jovian- to Super-Earth-mass planets at orbits of a few AU. Since planetary signals are of very short duration, an intense and continuous monitoring is…
Aims: Optical interferometry from space for the purpose of detecting and characterising exoplanets is seeing a revival, specifically from missions such as the proposed Large Interferometer For Exoplanets (LIFE). A default assumption since…
It is expected that the next generation of high-contrast imaging instruments will deliver the first unresolved image of an extrasolar planet. The emitted thermal infrared light from the planet should show no phase effect assuming the planet…
We present a means of characterizing and removing internal reflections between the CCD and other optical surfaces in an astronomical camera. The stellar reflections appear as out-of-focus images and are not necessarily axisymmetric about…
The study of Young Stellar Objects (YSOs) is one of the most exciting topics that can be undertaken by long baseline optical interferometry. The magnitudes of these objects are at the edge of capabilities of current optical interferometers,…
Significant advances in the discovery and characterization of the planetary systems of nearby stars can be accomplished with a moderate aperture high performance coronagraphic space mission that could be started in the next decade. Its…
We point out some advantages of making observations of extrasolar planets in linearly polarized (LP) light. Older cool stars have quite low levels (~ 10^-4 to 10^-5) of fractional LP, while extrasolar planets can have relatively high…
The discovery and characterization of exoplanets around nearby stars is driven by profound scientific questions about the uniqueness of Earth and our Solar System, and the conditions under which life could exist elsewhere in our Galaxy.…
Observations of the Sun in the visible spectral range belong to standard measurements obtained by instruments both on the ground and in the space. Nowadays, both nearly continuous full-disc observations with medium resolution and dedicated…
Extraterrestrial communication signals are hypothesized to be present in an extensive search space. Using principles of communication theory and system design, methods are studied and implemented to reduce the signal search space, while…