[en] The Large Binocular Telescope Interferometer (LBTI) enables nulling interferometric observations across the N band (8 to 13 μm) to suppress a star's bright light and probe for faint circumstellar emission. We present and statistically analyze the results from the LBTI/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 1σ median sensitivity of 23 zodis times the solar system dust surface density in its habitable zone (HZ; 23 zodis) for early-type stars and 48 zodis for Sun-like stars, where 1 zodi is the surface density of 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, 1σ 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.
Research Center/Unit :
STAR - Space sciences, Technologies and Astrophysics Research - ULiège
Disciplines :
Space science, astronomy & astrophysics
Author, co-author :
Ertel, S.; Large Binocular Telescope Observatory, 933 North Cherry Avenue, Tucson, AZ 85721, USA ; Steward Observatory, Department of Astronomy, University of Arizona, 993 N. Cherry Avenue, Tucson, AZ, 85721, USA
Defrere, Denis ; Université de Liège - ULiège > Département d'astrophys., géophysique et océanographie (AGO) > PSILab
Hinz, P.; Steward Observatory, Department of Astronomy, University of Arizona, 993 N. Cherry Avenue, Tucson, AZ, 85721, USA
Mennesson, B.; Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, 4800 Oak Grove Drive, Pasadena, CA 91109, USA
Kennedy, G. M.; Department of Physics, University of Warwick, Gibbet Hill Road, Coventry CV4 7AL, UK
Danchi, W. C.; NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Exoplanets & Stellar Astrophysics Laboratory, Code 667, Greenbelt, MD 20771, USA
Gelino, C.; Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, 4800 Oak Grove Drive, Pasadena, CA 91109, USA
Hill, J. M.; Large Binocular Telescope Observatory, 933 North Cherry Avenue, Tucson, AZ 85721, USA
Hoffmann, W. F.; Steward Observatory, Department of Astronomy, University of Arizona, 993 N. Cherry Avenue, Tucson, AZ, 85721, USA
Mazoyer, J.; Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, 4800 Oak Grove Drive, Pasadena, CA 91109, USA
Rieke, G.; Steward Observatory, Department of Astronomy, University of Arizona, 993 N. Cherry Avenue, Tucson, AZ, 85721, USA
Shannon, A.; LESIA, Observatoire de Paris, PSL Research University, CNRS, Sorbonne Université, Université Paris Diderot, Sorbonne Paris Cité, 5 Place Jules Janssen, F-92195 Meudon, France ; Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics, The Pennsylvania State University, State College, PA 16801, USA ; Center for Exoplanets and Habitable Worlds, The Pennsylvania State University, State College, PA 16802, USA
Stapelfeldt, K.; Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, 4800 Oak Grove Drive, Pasadena, CA 91109, USA
Spalding, E.; Steward Observatory, Department of Astronomy, University of Arizona, 993 N. Cherry Avenue, Tucson, AZ, 85721, USA
Stone, J. M.; Hubble fellow. ; Steward Observatory, Department of Astronomy, University of Arizona, 993 N. Cherry Avenue, Tucson, AZ, 85721, USA
Vaz, A.; Steward Observatory, Department of Astronomy, University of Arizona, 993 N. Cherry Avenue, Tucson, AZ, 85721, USA
Weinberger, A. J.; Department of Terrestrial Magnetism, Carnegie Institution of Washington, 5241 Broad Branch Road NW, Washington, DC 20015, USA
Willems, P.; Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, 4800 Oak Grove Drive, Pasadena, CA 91109, USA
Absil, Olivier ; Université de Liège - ULiège > Département d'astrophys., géophysique et océanographie (AGO) > PSILab
Arbo, P.; Steward Observatory, Department of Astronomy, University of Arizona, 993 N. Cherry Avenue, Tucson, AZ, 85721, USA
Bailey, V. P.; Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, 4800 Oak Grove Drive, Pasadena, CA 91109, USA
Beichman, C.; NASA Exoplanet Science Institute, MS 100-22, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125, USA
Bryden, G.; Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, 4800 Oak Grove Drive, Pasadena, CA 91109, USA
Downey, E. C.; Steward Observatory, Department of Astronomy, University of Arizona, 993 N. Cherry Avenue, Tucson, AZ, 85721, USA
Durney, O.; Steward Observatory, Department of Astronomy, University of Arizona, 993 N. Cherry Avenue, Tucson, AZ, 85721, USA
Esposito, S.; INAF-Osservatorio Astrofisico di Arcetri, Largo E. Fermi 5, I-50125 Firenze, Italy
Gaspar, A.; Steward Observatory, Department of Astronomy, University of Arizona, 993 N. Cherry Avenue, Tucson, AZ, 85721, USA
Grenz, P.; Steward Observatory, Department of Astronomy, University of Arizona, 993 N. Cherry Avenue, Tucson, AZ, 85721, USA
Haniff, C. A.; Cavendish Laboratory, University of Cambridge, JJ Thomson Avenue, Cambridge CB3 0HE, UK
Leisenring, J. M.; Steward Observatory, Department of Astronomy, University of Arizona, 993 N. Cherry Avenue, Tucson, AZ, 85721, USA
Marion, L.; Space sciences, Technologies & Astrophysics Research (STAR) Institute, University of Liège, Liège, Belgium
McMahon, T. J.; Steward Observatory, Department of Astronomy, University of Arizona, 993 N. Cherry Avenue, Tucson, AZ, 85721, USA
Millan-Gabet, R.; NASA Exoplanet Science Institute, MS 100-22, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125, USA
Montoya, M.; Steward Observatory, Department of Astronomy, University of Arizona, 993 N. Cherry Avenue, Tucson, AZ, 85721, USA
Morzinski, K. M.; Steward Observatory, Department of Astronomy, University of Arizona, 993 N. Cherry Avenue, Tucson, AZ, 85721, USA
Perera, S.; Steward Observatory, Department of Astronomy, University of Arizona, 993 N. Cherry Avenue, Tucson, AZ, 85721, USA ; Max Planck Institut für Astronomie, Königstuhl 17, D-69117 Heidelberg, Germany
Pinna, E.; INAF-Osservatorio Astrofisico di Arcetri, Largo E. Fermi 5, I-50125 Firenze, Italy
Pott, J.-U.; Max Planck Institut für Astronomie, Königstuhl 17, D-69117 Heidelberg, Germany
Power, J.; Large Binocular Telescope Observatory, 933 North Cherry Avenue, Tucson, AZ 85721, USA
Puglisi, A.; INAF-Osservatorio Astrofisico di Arcetri, Largo E. Fermi 5, I-50125 Firenze, Italy
Roberge, A.; NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Exoplanets & Stellar Astrophysics Laboratory, Code 667, Greenbelt, MD 20771, USA
Serabyn, E.; Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, 4800 Oak Grove Drive, Pasadena, CA 91109, USA
Skemer, A. J.; Astronomy Department, University of California Santa Cruz, 1156 High Street, Santa Cruz, CA 95064, USA
Su, K. Y. L.; Steward Observatory, Department of Astronomy, University of Arizona, 993 N. Cherry Avenue, Tucson, AZ, 85721, USA
Vaitheeswaran, V.; Steward Observatory, Department of Astronomy, University of Arizona, 993 N. Cherry Avenue, Tucson, AZ, 85721, USA
Wyatt, M. C.; Institute of Astronomy, University of Cambridge, Madingley Road, Cambridge CB3 0HA, UK)
Absil, O., Defrère, D., Coudé du Foresto, V., (2013) A&A, 555, p. A104
Absil, O., di Folco, E., Mérand, A., (2006) A&A, 452, p. 237
Robitaille, T. P., Tollerud, E. J., (2013) A&A, 558, p. A33. , Astropy Collaboration
Aumann, H. H., (1985) PASP, 97, p. 885
Aumann, H. H., (1988) AJ, 96, p. 1415
Backman, D. E., Paresce, F., (1993) Protostars and Planets III, , ed E. H. Levy and J. I. Lunine (Tucson, AZ: Univ. Arizona Press) 1253
Ballering, N. P., Rieke, G. H., Gáspár, A., (2014) ApJ, 793, p. 57
Beichman, C. A., Bryden, G., Stapelfeldt, K. R., (2006) ApJ, 652, p. 1674
Böhm, M., Pott, J.-U., Borelli, J., (2016) Proc. SPIE, 9906, p. 99062R
Bonsor, A., Augereau, J.-C., Thébault, P., (2012) A&A, 548, p. A104
Bonsor, A., Raymond, S. N., Augereau, J.-C., (2013) MNRAS, 433, p. 2938
Bonsor, A., Raymond, S. N., Augereau, J.-C., Ormel, C. W., (2014) MNRAS, 441, p. 2380
Bonsor, A., Wyatt, M. C., Kral, Q., (2018) MNRAS, 480, p. 5560
Bordé, P., Coudé du Foresto, V., Chagnon, G., Perrin, G., (2002) A&A, 393, p. 183
Bracewell, R. N., MacPhie, R. H., (1979) Icar, 38, p. 136
Briesemeister, Z. W., Skemer, A. J., Stone, J. M., (2019) AJ, 157, p. 244
Chelli, A., Duvert, G., Bourgès, L., (2016) A&A, 589, p. A112
David, T. J., Hillenbrand, L. A., (2015) ApJ, 804, p. 146
Defrère, D., Absil, O., Berger, J. P., (2018) ExA, 46, p. 475
Defrère, D., Absil, O., den Hartog, R., Hanot, C., Stark, C., (2010) A&A, 509, p. A9
Defrère, D., Hinz, P. M., Mennesson, B., (2016) ApJ, 824, p. 66
Defrère, D., Hinz, P. M., Skemer, A. J., (2015) ApJ, 799, p. 42
Defrère, D., Lebreton, J., Le Bouquin, J.-B., (2012) A&A, 546, p. L9
Defrère, D., Stark, C., Cahoy, K., Beerer, I., (2012) Proc. SPIE, 8442, p. 84420M
Dermott, S. F., Kehoe, T. J. J., Durda, D. D., Grogan, K., Nesvorný, D., (2002) Proceedings of Asteroids, Comets, Meteors-ACM 2002, p. 319. , ed B. Warmbein (Noordwijk: ESA)
Dohnanyi, J. S., (1969) JGR, 74, p. 2531
Eiroa, C., Marshall, J. P., Mora, A., (2013) A&A, 555, p. A11
Ertel, S., Absil, O., Defrère, D., (2014) A&A, 570, p. A128
Ertel, S., Absil, O., Defrère, D., Augereau, J. C., Mennesson, B., (2018) ExA, 46, p. 401
Ertel, S., Defrère, D., Absil, O., (2016) A&A, 595, p. A44
Ertel, S., Defrère, D., Hinz, P., (2018) AJ, 155, p. 194
Ertel, S., Kennedy, G. M., Defrère, D., (2018) Proc. SPIE 10698 106981V
Ertel, S., Marshall, J. P., Augereau, J.-C., (2014) A&A, 561, p. A114
Ertel, S., Wolf, S., Marshall, J. P., (2012) A&A, 541, p. A148
Faramaz, V., Ertel, S., Booth, M., Cuadra, J., Simmonds, C., (2017) MNRAS, 465, p. 2352
Gáspár, A., Apai, D., Augereau, J.-C., (2019) BAAS, 51, p. 69
Gáspár, A., Rieke, G. H., (2014) ApJ, 784, p. 33
Gáspár, A., Rieke, G. H., Balog, Z., (2013) ApJ, 768, p. 25
Gaudi, B. S., Seager, S., Mennesson, B., (2018), arXiv:1809.09674
Gezari, D. Y., Schmitz, M., Pitts, P. S., Mead, J. M., (1993) Far Infrared Supplement: Catalog of Infrared Observations 3rd ed, , (Greenbelt, MD: NASA)
Gomes, R., Levison, H. F., Tsiganis, K., Morbidelli, A., (2005) Natur, 435, p. 466
Greaves, J. S., Wyatt, M. C., Holland, W. S., Dent, W. R. F., (2004) MNRAS, 351, p. L54
