Mathematics – Logic
Scientific paper
Dec 2001
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2001aas...19912907k&link_type=abstract
American Astronomical Society, 199th AAS Meeting, #129.07; Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society, Vol. 33, p.1495
Mathematics
Logic
1
Scientific paper
Existing parallax surveys routinely measure changes in apparent stellar positions to within 2 mas by means of CCD imaging against background stars. A dedicated survey using similar techniques could thus expect to detect perturbations due to the gravitational influence of a companion in a regime of importance to our understanding of the substellar companion mass function. This technique could uncover Jupiter-mass (MJ) companions orbiting at 5 AU from late M Dwarfs 8 pc away, or 13-MJ companions (deuterium-burning mass limit) 5 AU from late K dwarfs at a distance of 20 pc. In contrast, previous companion searches with photographic plates did not reliably detect reflex motions of less than 30 mas and produced no conclusive evidence for a single substellar companion. Technological advances in ground-based interferometry promise order-of-magnitude improvements but are not well-suited to large-scale surveys of relatively faint stars. Space-based surveys will do better, but are limited to mission lifetimes that preclude measurement of companions with orbital periods greater than a few years. A survey with small telescopes in each hemisphere can economically probe the substellar companion population in a statistically significant sample for a time period that is not accessible to currently planned space missions. We explore the limits of such a search by calculating detection efficiencies for a variety of observing strategies.
Henry Todd J.
Kaplan I. J.
Koerner David William
No associations
LandOfFree
An Astrometric Survey of Companions to Nearby Stars does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this scientific paper.
If you have personal experience with An Astrometric Survey of Companions to Nearby Stars, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and An Astrometric Survey of Companions to Nearby Stars will most certainly appreciate the feedback.
Profile ID: LFWR-SCP-O-1236391