Narrow-Angle Astrometry with the Space Interferometry Mission: The Search for Extra-solar Planets. I. Detection and Characterization of Single Planets

Details Narrow-Angle Astrometry with the Space Interferometry Mission: The Search for Extra-solar Planets. I. Detection and Characterization of Single Planets Narrow-Angle Astrometry with the Space Interferometry Mission: The Search for Extra-solar Planets. I. Detection and Characterization of Single Planets

2002-07-10

arxiv.org/abs/astro-ph/0207222v1

Astronomy and Astrophysics

Astrophysics

47 pages, 9 figures, to appear in the Publications of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific (November 2002)

Scientific paper

10.1086/343823

(abridged) We present results from a detailed set of end-to-end numerical simulations of SIM narrow-angle astrometric measurements and data analysis to illustrate the enormous potential that SIM has for the discovery and characterization of planets outside the Solar System. Utilizing a template observing scenario, we quantify SIM sensitivity to single planets orbiting single normal nearby stars as function of measurement errors and properties of the planet: SIM will detect over 95% of the planets with periods between a few days and the 5-year nominal mission lifetime that produce astrometric signatures $\sim 2.2$ times larger than the single-measurement accuracy. We provide accuracy estimates of full-orbit reconstruction and planet mass determination: at twice the discovery limit, orbital elements will be determined with a typical accuracy of 20-30%; the astrometric signature must be $\sim 10$ and $\sim 15$ times the minimum signal required for detection to derive mass and inclination angle estimates accurate to 10%. We quantify the impact of different observing strategies on the boundaries for secure detection and accurate orbit estimation: the results scale with the square root of both the number of observations and the number of reference stars. We investigate SIM discovery space, to gauge the instrument ability in detecting very low-mass planets: around the nearest stars, SIM will find planets as small as Earth, if they are present. Some of these might be orbiting inside the parent star's Habitable Zone. (abridged)

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