Astronomy and Astrophysics – Astrophysics
Scientific paper
Jan 2010
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2010aas...21542303d&link_type=abstract
American Astronomical Society, AAS Meeting #215, #423.03; Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society, Vol. 42, p.326
Astronomy and Astrophysics
Astrophysics
Scientific paper
Many different techniques are being used to discover and characterize exoplanets. One diagnostic which has been underutilized, surprisingly, in exoplanet studies is polarimetry. Most theoretical models have focused on using the technique of polarimetry to detect exoplanets by means of the light they scatter from their atmospheres. However, the polarization levels which are predicted from this effect are well below the sensitivity of modern polarimeters. In this project we will observationally test the alternative theory presented by Carciofi & Magalhães (2005) that provides a means of detecting exoplanets occulting their host stars by polarimetry. Instead of looking for the scattered light from the exoplanet, we will focus on the polarimetric signatures produced when exoplanets occult their host stars. During the occultation the exoplanet will block some of the light from the stellar disk. The symmetry of the stellar disk will thus be broken, producing a net linear polarization which is predicted to be within the detectable range of modern polarimeters. Measuring the occultation polarization gives us important information about the planet and the star. In particular, this technique allows for the determination of the stellar limb polarization, a quantity that is very difficult to measure and is essentially unknown to stars other than the Sun. Current and future space based missions such as CoRoT, Kepler and others will significantly increase the number of known exoplanets, providing addition prospective targets to investigate. Observations will be carried out with the use of the University of Wisconsin's Halfwave Polarimeter (HPOL). Several of us are involved in a collaboration to relocate HPOL to the Mt. Lemmon Observing Facility in Fall 2009, and this will provide us with guaranteed observing time to conduct this study.
JPW acknowledges support from NSF Astronomy & Astrophysics Postdoctoral Fellowship AST 08-02230.
Bjorkman Jon E.
Bjorkman Karen S.
Carciofi Alex C.
Davidson James W. Jr.
Magalhaes Antonio Mario
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