The validation of Kepler planet detections

Details The validation of Kepler planet detections The validation of Kepler planet detections

Sep 2011

adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2011ess.....2.0404f&link_type=abstract

American Astronomical Society, ESS meeting #2, #4.04

Physics

Optics

Scientific paper

Many of the most interesting candidate transiting planets identified by the Kepler Mission can not be confirmed by spectroscopic means, with the detection of the reflex motion of the star. These include rocky planets in the habitable zone of their parent stars. The Kepler team has developed ways of "validating" candidates by modeling the photometry to place constraints on the wide range of false positives ("blends") that can mimic the transit light curves. We model Kepler transit light curves assuming they are the result of the brightness variations of an eclipsing binary being attenuated by the brighter candidate star. This so-called 'Blender' study allows identifying the range of spectral type and magnitude difference compared to the target for possible blends.
We combine the frame of the Blender results with constraints from the different follow-up observations. Speckle interferometry, Adaptive optics imaging, and the detection of a centroid shift during the transit in the Kepler photometric aperture, all combine to constrain the possible separation of an unseen background star. We also observe the most interesting targets with WarmSpitzer to check the achromaticity of the transit signal. This presentation will describe the Blender modeling, and how it is combined with complementary constraints from follow-up observations to estimate the frequency of blends, and ultimately the probability that a candidate is a bona-fide planet. We illustrate this technique with the discoveries of several Super-Earths.

Affiliated with

Also associated with

No associations

Rating

The validation of Kepler planet detections 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 The validation of Kepler planet detections, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and The validation of Kepler planet detections will most certainly appreciate the feedback.

Rate now

Comments { 0 }

Profile ID: LFWR-SCP-O-832604