Astronomy and Astrophysics – Astronomy
Scientific paper
Dec 2006
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2006aas...209.2403b&link_type=abstract
2007 AAS/AAPT Joint Meeting, American Astronomical Society Meeting 209, #24.03; Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society, V
Astronomy and Astrophysics
Astronomy
1
Scientific paper
Mass is the most important physical property to know for extrasolar planets because it is the one property that distinguishes a star's companion as a bona-fide planet rather than a brown dwarf or even a low-mass star. Additionally, planetary masses provide useful boundary conditions for models of planetary formation and evolution as mass is a critical component in determining a planet's instantaneous characteristics and past and future evolution. In order to determine exoplanets' true masses, we currently use the Hubble Space Telescope Fine Guidance Sensors to obtain measurements of the astrometric elements (perturbation semi-major axis and inclination) of nearby stars that host candidate planets. Because of the long perturbation period of our targets, these mass determinations rely on Doppler velocity measurements to establish the planetary orbital parameters. Unknown shorter-period planets can introduce velocity changes that could be misconstrued as noise and lead to deriving incorrect orbital parameters for the known planets. Consequently, we carry out high-cadence Doppler spectroscopy observations subset of our targets with the Hobby-Eberly Telescope at McDonald Observatory. We present here refined orbital parameters and limits on undetected planets for a subset of our target systems from combining our new data with legacy velocities from planet search programs. We also present preliminary three dimensional models and exoplanet masses for some of our targets from combining the astrometric and spectroscopic data. This research is a technique demonstration of direct relevance to the Space Interferometry Mission, which will be able to discover new exoplanets and precisely measure their masses using astrometry alone. Support for this work was provided by NASA through grants GO-10610 and GO-10989 from the Space Telescope Science Institute, which is operated by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy, Inc., under NASA contract NAS5-26555.
Bean Jacob
Benedict George F.
McArthur Barbara E.
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