Related papers: Simulations of astrometric planet detection in Alp…
Context: Exoplanet science has made staggering progress in the last two decades, due to the relentless exploration of new detection methods and refinement of existing ones. Yet astrometry offers a unique and untapped potential of discovery…
One of the main endeavors of fundamental astrometry is to establish a practical realization of an inertial reference frame anchored to celestial objects whose positions are defined in the barycentric coordinates of the solar system. The…
Our nearest stellar neighbour, Proxima Centauri, is a low mass star with spectral typedM5.5 and hosting an Earth-like planet orbiting within its habitable zone. However, the habitability of the planet depends on the high-energy radiation of…
We present theoretical analysis of the astrometric searches for extrasolar planets with the Space Interferometry Mission (SIM). Particularly, we derive a model for the future measurements with SIM and discuss the problem of reliable…
While thousands of exoplanets have been confirmed, the known properties about individual discoveries remain sparse and depend on detection technique. To utilize more than a small section of the exoplanet dataset, tools need to be developed…
A new observing mode for the Palomar Testbed Interferometer was developed in2002-2003 which enables differential astrometry at the level of 20 micro-arcseconds for binary systems with separations of several hundred milli-arcseconds (mas).…
The accuracy of astrometric observations conducted via a space-borne optical interferometer orbiting the Earth is expected to approach a few microarcseconds. Data processing of such extremely high-precision measurements requires access to a…
We report on a sub-stellar companion search utilizing interferometric fringe-tracking astrometry acquired with Fine Guidance Sensor 3 (FGS 3) on the Hubble Space Telescope. Our targets were Proxima Centauri and Barnard's Star. We obtain…
To understand the frequency, and thus the formation and evolution, of planetary systems like our own solar system, it is critical to detect Jupiter-like planets in Jupiter-like orbits. For long-term radial-velocity monitoring, it is useful…
We present the first results of the Astrometric Reconnaissance of Exoplanetary Systems (ARES) project, aimed at validating and characterizing candidate exoplanets around the nearest systems using multi-epoch Hubble Space Telescope (HST)…
Most neighboring stars are still detected as point sources and are beyond the angular resolution reach of current observatories. Methods to improve our understanding of stars at high angular resolution are investigated. Air Cherenkov…
We report a method that uses "completeness" to estimate the number of exrasolar planets discovered by an observing program with a direct-imaging instrument. We develop a completeness function for Earth-like planets on "habitable" orbits for…
An Earth-like extra-solar planet emits light which is many orders of magnitude fainter than that of the parent star. We propose a method of identifying bio-signature spectral lines in light from known extra-solar planets based on Fourier…
Understanding the physical process responsible for the transport of energy in the core of $\alpha$ Centauri A is of the utmost importance if this star is to be used in the calibration of stellar model physics. Adoption of different parallax…
The proposed infrared space interferometry mission Darwin has two main aims: (i) to detect and characterize exo-planets similar to the Earth, and (ii) to carry out astrophysical imaging in the wavelength range 6 - 20 micron at a sensitivity…
Follow the big stars! I review the theory of detection and parameter measurement of planetary systems by follow-up observations of ongoing microlensing events. Two parameters can generically be measured from the event itself: the…
The detection and characterisation of Earth-like planets with Doppler signals of the order of 1 m/s currently represent one of the greatest challenge for extrasolar-planet hunters. As results for such findings are often controversial, it is…
The precision of radial velocity (RV) measurements to detect indirectly planetary companions of nearby stars has improved to enable the discovery of extrasolar planets in the Neptune and Super-Earth mass range. Discoveries of Earth-like…
Omega Centauri ($\omega$ Cen) is one of the most complex star clusters in the Milky Way, and likely the stripped nucleus of an accreted dwarf galaxy. Being the subject of debate between it hosting an intermediate-mass black hole (IMBH) or a…
With hydrodynamical simulations we examine the evolution of a protoplanetary disc around $\alpha$ Centauri B including the effect of the eccentric orbit binary companion $\alpha$ Centauri A. The initially circular orbit disc undergoes two…