[en] Habitable zone dust levels are a key unknown that must be understood to ensure the success of future space missions to image Earth analogs around nearby stars. Current detection limits are several orders of magnitude above the level of the solar system's zodiacal cloud, so characterization of the brightness distribution of exo-zodi down to much fainter levels is needed. To this end, the Large Binocular Telescope Interferometer (LBTI) will detect thermal emission from habitable zone exo-zodi a few times brighter than solar system levels. Here we present a modeling framework for interpreting LBTI observations, which yields dust levels from detections and upper limits that are then converted into predictions and upper limits for the scattered light surface brightness. We apply this model to the HOSTS survey sample of nearby stars; assuming a null depth uncertainty of 10[SUP]-4[/SUP] the LBTI will be sensitive to dust a few times above the solar system level around Sun-like stars, and to even lower dust levels for more massive stars.
Disciplines :
Space science, astronomy & astrophysics
Author, co-author :
Kennedy, Grant M.; Institute of Astronomy, University of Cambridge, Madingley Road, Cambridge CB3 0HA, UK
Wyatt, Mark C.; Institute of Astronomy, University of Cambridge, Madingley Road, Cambridge CB3 0HA, UK
Bailey, Vanessa; Steward Observatory, University of Arizona, 933 North Cherry Avenue, Tucson, AZ 85721, USA
Bryden, Geoffrey; Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, 4800 Oak Grove Drive, Pasadena, CA 91109, USA
Danchi, William C.; NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Exoplanets and Stellar Astrophysics, Code 667, Greenbelt, MD 20771, USA
Defrere, Denis ; Université de Liège > Département d'astrophys., géophysique et océanographie (AGO) > Astroph. extragalactique et observations spatiales (AEOS)
Haniff, Chris; Cavendish Laboratory, University of Cambridge, JJ Thomson Avenue, Cambridge CB3 0HE, UK
Hinz, Philip M.; Steward Observatory, University of Arizona, 933 North Cherry Avenue, Tucson, AZ 85721, USA
Lebreton, Jérémy; Infrared Processing and Analysis Center, MS 100-22, California Institute of Technology, 770 South Wilson Avenue, Pasadena, CA 91125, USA ; NASA Exoplanet Science Institute, California Institute of Technology, 770 South Wilson Avenue, Pasadena, CA 91125, USA
Mennesson, Bertrand ; Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, 4800 Oak Grove Drive, Pasadena, CA 91109, USA
Millan-Gabet, Rafael; NASA Exoplanet Science Institute, California Institute of Technology, 770 South Wilson Avenue, Pasadena, CA 91125, USA
Morales, Farisa; Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, 4800 Oak Grove Drive, Pasadena, CA 91109, USA
Panić, Olja; Institute of Astronomy, University of Cambridge, Madingley Road, Cambridge CB3 0HA, UK
Rieke, George H.; Steward Observatory, University of Arizona, 933 North Cherry Avenue, Tucson, AZ 85721, USA
Roberge, Aki ; NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Exoplanets and Stellar Astrophysics, Code 667, Greenbelt, MD 20771, USA
Serabyn, Eugene; Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, 4800 Oak Grove Drive, Pasadena, CA 91109, USA
Shannon, Andrew ; Institute of Astronomy, University of Cambridge, Madingley Road, Cambridge CB3 0HA, UK
Skemer, Andrew J.; Steward Observatory, University of Arizona, 933 North Cherry Avenue, Tucson, AZ 85721, USA
Stapelfeldt, Karl R.; NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Exoplanets and Stellar Astrophysics, Code 667, Greenbelt, MD 20771, USA
Su, Katherine Y. L.; Steward Observatory, University of Arizona, 933 North Cherry Avenue, Tucson, AZ 85721, USA
Weinberger, Alycia J. ; Department of Terrestrial Magnetism, Carnegie Institution of Washington, 5241 Broad Branch Road NW, Washington, DC 20015, USA
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