Computer Science
Scientific paper
Jul 2002
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2002hst..prop.9475k&link_type=abstract
HST Proposal ID #9475
Computer Science
Hst Proposal Id #9475
Scientific paper
We propose a comprehensive imaging survey of nearby stars that will realize the full potential of the ACS coronagraph to map debris disks, the extrasolar analogs of our Kuiper Belt. Most debris disks are detected only by excess thermal emission at far-infrared wavelengths. Because they have a factor of 100 less dust cross section than the young debris disks around HR 4796A and beta Pic, they are undectable by present techniques. In simulations of disk detectability, Kalas and Jewitt {1996} determined that detecting the scattered light from the disk requires at least two orders of magnitude of supression of the central PSF than is attainable from the ground. The ACS coronagraph finally provides this increase in sensitivity, surpassing the WFPC2 sensitivity to faint nebulosity near bright stars by at least three orders of magnitude. Mapping the debris around stars is particularly important for the indirect detection of planet-mass objects. Dynamical models have shown that unseen perturbers dynamically modify the radial, azimuthal and vertical structure of debris disks. These data will provide the critical high-resolution mapping of debris disks.
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