Extrasolar Terrestrial Planets: Can We Detect Them Already?
Michael Endl, Martin Kuerster, Frederic Rouesnel, Sebastian Els, Artie P. Hatzes, William D. Cochran
Abstract
With the example of Proxima Centauri we discuss the feasibility of detecting terrestrial planets (1 to a few MEarth) using the high precision radial velocity (RV) technique. If a very high RV precision for M stars is achieved even planets with these extremely low masses become detectable. For Proxima Cen (M5V), one of the prime targets of our M-stars planet search program using the UVES spectrograph & iodine cell at the ESO VLT UT2, we obtain a long term RV precision of 2.5 m/s. Based on numerical simulations we determine that this level of precision would have already allowed us to detect planets with m sin i = 4 to 6 MEarth inside the habitable zone of Proxima Cen.
Create a lesson
Related papers
On binary pulsars and the force of gravity
Davor Palle
Tidal torques. A critical review of some techniques
Michael Efroimsky, James G. Williams
Dynamics of a Spherical Accretion Shock with Neutrino Heating and Alpha-Particle Recombination
Rodrigo Fernández, Christopher Thompson
Asymptotically FRW black holes
J. T. Firouzjaee, Reza Mansouri
Reaction of Accretion Disks to Abrupt Mass Loss During Binary Black Hole Merger
Sean M. O'Neill, M. Coleman Miller, Tamara Bogdanovic et al.
A Gamma-Ray Burst/Pulsar for Cosmic-Ray Positrons with a Dark Matter-like Spectrum
Kunihito Ioka