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The HOSTS survey for exozodiacal dust : observational results from the complete survey
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(2020) The HOSTS survey for exozodiacal dust : observational results from the complete survey. The Astronomical Journal . (In Press)
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WRAP-HOSTS-survey-exozodiacal-dust-survey-Kennedy-2020.pdf - Accepted Version - Requires a PDF viewer. Download (2670Kb) | Preview |
Abstract
The Large Binocular Telescope Interferometer (LBTI) enables nulling interferometric observations across the N band (8 to 13 um) to suppress a star's bright light and probe for faint circumstellar emission. We present and statistically analyze the results from the LBTI/HOSTS (Hunt for Observable Signatures of Terrestrial Systems) survey for exozodiacal dust. By comparing our measurements to model predictions based on the Solar zodiacal dust in the N band, we estimate a 1 sigma median sensitivity of 23 zodis for early type stars and 48 zodis for Sun-like stars, where 1 zodi is the surface density of habitable zone (HZ) dust in the Solar system. Of the 38 stars observed, 10 show significant excess. A clear correlation of our detections with the presence of cold dust in the systems was found, but none with the stellar spectral type or age. The majority of Sun-like stars have relatively low HZ dust levels (best-fit median: 3 zodis, 1 sigma upper limit: 9 zodis, 95% confidence: 27 zodis based on our N band measurements), while ~20% are significantly more dusty. The Solar system's HZ dust content is consistent with being typical. Our median HZ dust level would not be a major limitation to the direct imaging search for Earth-like exoplanets, but more precise constraints are still required, in particular to evaluate the impact of exozodiacal dust for the spectroscopic characterization of imaged exo-Earth candidates.
| Item Type: | Journal Article | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Subjects: | Q Science > QB Astronomy | ||||
| Divisions: | Faculty of Science > Physics | ||||
| Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH): | Habitable planets, Disks (Astrophysics), Space interferometry, Extrasolar planets -- Research | ||||
| Journal or Publication Title: | The Astronomical Journal | ||||
| Publisher: | Institute of Physics Publishing, Inc. | ||||
| ISSN: | 0004-6256 | ||||
| Official Date: | 18 February 2020 | ||||
| Dates: |
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| Date of first compliant deposit: | 23 March 2020 | ||||
| Status: | Peer Reviewed | ||||
| Publication Status: | In Press | ||||
| Access rights to Published version: | Restricted or Subscription Access | ||||
| Related URLs: | |||||
| Open Access Version: |
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