Christopher C. Stark

THE LINK BETWEEN PLANETARY SYSTEMS, DUSTY WHITE DWARFS, AND METAL-POLLUTED WHITE DWARFS

It has long been suspected that metal-polluted white dwarfs (types DAZ, DBZ, and DZ) and white dwarfs with dusty disks possess planetary systems, but a specific physical mechanism by which planetesimals are perturbed close to a white dwarf has not yet been fully posited. In this paper, we demonstrate that mass loss from a central star during post-main-sequence evolution can sweep planetesimals into interior mean motion resonances with a single giant planet. These planetesimals are slowly removed through chaotic excursions of eccentricity that in time create radial orbits capable of tidally disrupting the planetesimal. Numerical N-body simulations of the solar system show that a sufficient number of planetesimals are perturbed to explain white dwarfs with both dust and metal pollution, provided other white dwarfs have more massive relic asteroid belts. Our scenario requires only one Jupiter-sized planet and a sufficient number of asteroids near its 2:1 interior mean motion resonance. Finally, we show that once a planetesimal is perturbed into a tidal crossing orbit, it will become disrupted after the first pass of the white dwarf, where a highly eccentric stream of debris forms the main reservoir for dust-producing collisions. These simulations, in concert with observations of white dwarfs, place interesting limits on the frequency of planetary systems around main-sequence stars, the frequency of planetesimal belts, and the probability that dust may obscure future terrestrial planet finding missions.

Lower Limits on Aperture Size for an ExoEarth-Detecting Coronagraphic Mission

The yield of Earth-like planets will likely be a primary science metric for future space-based missions that will drive telescope aperture size. Maximizing the exoEarth candidate yield is therefore critical to minimizing the required aperture. Here we describe a method for exoEarth candidate yield maximization that simultaneously optimizes, for the first time, the targets chosen for observation, the number of visits to each target, the delay time between visits, and the exposure time of every observation. This code calculates both the detection time and multi-wavelength spectral characterization time required for planets. We also refine the astrophysical assumptions used as inputs to these calculations, relying on published estimates of planetary occurrence rates as well as theoretical and observational constraints on terrestrial planet sizes and classical habitable zones. Given these astrophysical assumptions, optimistic telescope and instrument assumptions, and our new completeness code that produces the highest yields to date, we suggest lower limits on the aperture size required to detect and characterize a statistically-motivated sample of exoEarths.

Maximizing the ExoEarth candidate yield from a future direct imaging mission

ExoEarth yield is a critical science metric for future exoplanet imaging missions. Here we estimate exoEarth candidate yield using single visit completeness for a variety of mission design and astrophysical parameters. We review the methods used in previous yield calculations and show that the method choice can significantly impact yield estimates as well as how the yield responds to mission parameters. We introduce a method, called Altruistic Yield Optimization, that optimizes the target list and exposure times to maximize mission yield, adapts maximally to changes in mission parameters, and increases exoEarth candidate yield by up to 100% compared to previous methods. We use Altruistic Yield Optimization to estimate exoEarth candidate yield for a large suite of mission and astrophysical parameters using single visit completeness. We find that exoEarth candidate yield is most sensitive to telescope diameter, followed by coronagraph inner working angle, followed by coronagraph contrast, and finally coronagraph contrast noise floor. We find a surprisingly weak dependence of exoEarth candidate yield on exozodi level. Additionally, we provide a quantitative approach to defining a yield goal for future exoEarth-imaging missions.

EXOZODIACAL DUST LEVELS FOR NEARBY MAIN-SEQUENCE STARS: A SURVEY WITH THE KECK INTERFEROMETER NULLER

The Keck Interferometer Nuller (KIN) was used to survey 25 nearby main-sequence stars in the mid-infrared, in order to assess the prevalence of warm circumstellar (exozodiacal) dust around nearby solar-type stars. The KIN measures circumstellar emission by spatially blocking the star but transmitting the circumstellar flux in a region typically 0.1-4 AU from the star. We find one significant detection (η Crv), two marginal detections (γ Oph and α Aql), and 22 clear non-detections. Using a model of our own solar systems zodiacal cloud, scaled to the luminosity of each target star, we estimate the equivalent number of target zodis needed to match our observations. Our three zodi detections are η Crv (1250 ± 260), γ Oph (200 ± 80), and α Aql (600 ± 200), where the uncertainties are 1σ. The 22 non-detected targets have an ensemble weighted average consistent with zero, with an average individual uncertainty of 160 zodis (1σ). These measurements represent the best limits to date on exozodi levels for a sample of nearby main-sequence stars. A statistical analysis of the population of 23 stars not previously known to contain circumstellar dust (excluding η Crv and γ Oph) suggests that, if the measurement errors are uncorrelated (for which we provide evidence) and if these 23 stars are representative of a single class with respect to the level of exozodi brightness, the mean exozodi level for the class is <150 zodis (3σ upper limit, corresponding to 99% confidence under the additional assumption that the measurement errors are Gaussian). We also demonstrate that this conclusion is largely independent of the shape and mean level of the (unknown) true underlying exozodi distribution.

The cold origin of the warm dust around ε Eridani

Context. The nearby K2 V star e Eridani hosts one known inner planet, an outer Kuiper belt analog, and an inner disk of warm dust. Spitzer/IRS measurements indicate that the warm dust is present at distances as close as a few AU from the star. Its origin is puzzling, since an “asteroid belt” that could produce this dust would be unstable because of the known inner planet. Aims. Here we test a hypothesis that the observed warm dust is generated by collisions in the outer belt and is transported inward by Poynting-Robertson drag and strong stellar winds. Methods. We simulated a steady-state distribution of dust particles outside 10 AU with a collisional code and in the inner region (r < 10 AU) with single-particle numerical integrations. By assuming homogeneous spherical dust grains composed of ice and astrosilicate, we calculated the thermal emission of the dust and compared it with observations. We investigated two different orbital configurations for the inner planet inferred from radial velocity measurements, one with a highly eccentric orbit of e = 0.7 and another one with a moderate eccentricity of e = 0.25. We also produced a simulation without a planet. Results. Our models can reproduce the shape and magnitude of the observed spectral energy distribution from mid-infrared to submillimeter wavelengths, as well as the Spitzer/MIPS radial brightness profiles. The best-fit dust composition includes both water ice and silicates. The results are similar for the two possible planetary orbits and without a planet. Conclusions. The observed warm dust in the e Eridani system can indeed stem from the outer “Kuiper belt” and be transported inward by Poynting-Robertson and stellar wind drag. The inner planet has little effect on the distribution of dust, so that the planetary orbit could not be constrained. Reasonable agreement between the model and observations can only be achieved by relaxing the assumption of purely silicate dust and assuming a mixture of silicate and water ice in comparable amounts.

Exocometary gas in the HD 181327 debris ring

ALMA is a partnership of ESO (representing its member states), NSF (USA) and NINS (Japan), together with NRC (Canada) and NSC and ASIAA (Taiwan) and KASI (Republic of Korea), in cooperation with the Republic of Chile. The Joint ALMA Observatory is operated by ESO, AUI/NRAO and NAOJ. This work was supported by the European Union through ERC grant number 279973. SM, SC, SP acknowledge financial support from Millennium Nucleus RC130007 (Chilean Ministry of Economy), and additionally by FONDECYT grants 1130949 and 3140601. GMK is supported by the Royal Society as a Royal Society University Research Fellow.

APODIZED PUPIL LYOT CORONAGRAPHS FOR ARBITRARY APERTURES. V. HYBRID SHAPED PUPIL DESIGNS FOR IMAGING EARTH-LIKE PLANETS WITH FUTURE SPACE OBSERVATORIES

We introduce a new class of solutions for Apodized Pupil Lyot Coronagraphs (APLC) with segmented aperture telescopes to remove broadband diffracted light from a star with a contrast level of

Nulling interferometry: impact of exozodiacal clouds on the performance of future life-finding space missions

10^{10}

ON THE MORPHOLOGY AND CHEMICAL COMPOSITION OF THE HR 4796A DEBRIS DISK

. These new coronagraphs provide a key advance to enabling direct imaging and spectroscopy of Earth twins with future large space missions. Building on shaped pupil (SP) apodization optimizations, our approach enables two-dimensional optimizations of the system to address any aperture features such as central obstruction, support structures or segment gaps. We illustrate the technique with a design that could reach

First images of debris disks around TWA 7, TWA 25, HD 35650, and HD 377

10^{10}