Precision closure phase measurements obtained with ground-based long baseline
optical interferometers is a promising way to directly detect light from nearby
hot Jupiters. Here we present our closure phase simulations for the CHARA array
for several bright hot Jupiters, υ And b, 51 Peg b, and τ
Boo b. The maximum possible closure phase signals from these hot Jupiters are
very small, for example, only ∼0.17 degrees for υ And b,
requiring very high precision and stable closure phase measurements. We present
preliminary results of a closure phase study on test object β Tau and
hot Jupiter system υ And, both obtained with the MIRC instrument at
the CHARA array. We demonstrate that directly detecting the light from hot
Jupiters is feasible using high precision closure phase measurements obtained by
CHARA-MIRC along with its sub-milli-arcsecond resolution, although challenges
remain.