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Science case for VLT-Planet Finder

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 May 2006

C. Moutou ,
J.-L. Beuzit ,
R. Gratton ,
D. Mouillet ,
F. Allard ,
J.-C. Augereau ,
A. Boccaletti ,
S. Desidera ,
M. Feldt  and
Th. Henning
...Show all authors
C. Moutou
Affiliation:
LAM, Marseille, France, email: claire.moutou@oamp.fr
J.-L. Beuzit
Affiliation:
LAOG, Grenoble, France
R. Gratton
Affiliation:
INAF-OPD, Padova, Italy
D. Mouillet
Affiliation:
Obs. Midi-Pyrénées, Tarbes, France
F. Allard
Affiliation:
ENS, Lyon, France
J.-C. Augereau
Affiliation:
LAOG, Grenoble, France
A. Boccaletti
Affiliation:
Obs. Paris Meudon, France
S. Desidera
Affiliation:
INAF-OPD, Padova, Italy
M. Feldt
Affiliation:
MPIA, Heidelberg, Germany
Th. Henning
Affiliation:
MPIA, Heidelberg, Germany
A.-M. Lagrange
Affiliation:
LAOG, Grenoble, France
A. Longmore
Affiliation:
ATC, Edimburg, UK
F. Ménard
Affiliation:
LAOG, Grenoble, France
H.-M. Schmid
Affiliation:
ETH, Zürich, Switzerland
D.M. Stam
Affiliation:
UVA, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
S. Udry
Affiliation:
Obs. Genève, Switzerland
R. Waters
Affiliation:
UVA, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
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Abstract

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This paper presents the scientific case for a next generation adaptive optics instrument at the VLT, temporarily named “Planet Finder”, that is aimed at detecting and characterizing extrasolar planets through the direct analysis of their emitted photons in the visible and at near-IR wavelengths. We discuss the observational niche of such an instrument to have first light in 2010, in complement to other planet search methods. To improve the efficiency (and consistency) of the search for planets with the PF, the observations will need to be organized in the form of an extensive survey of hundreds of nearby stars, predicted outputs of which are also described here. This summarizes the study phase of the instrument, conducted by two competitive teams and the recent merging of both studies, regarding the scientific impact of Planet Finder.

Keywords

stars: low-massbrown dwarfsplanetary systemsprotoplanetary diskstechniques: high angular resolutionsurveys
Type
Contributed Papers
Information
Proceedings of the International Astronomical Union , Volume 1 , Colloquium C200: Direct Imaging of Exoplanets: Science & Techniques , October 2005 , pp. 159 - 164
Copyright
© 2006 International Astronomical Union