NSF Award
1008890
This project will improve computational methods for studying variations in transit lightcurves in exoplanet systems. A planet is said to transit its host star when it passes in front of the star as viewed from the Earth. Transits manifest themselves as small, periodic reductions in the brightness of the star. In this project, Dr. Nesvorny will explore two types of transit lightcurve variations (TLV), including variations in the central time of the transit lightcurve (TTV, or transit time variation), and in the duration of the transit (TDV, or transit duration variation). Such studies can in principle reveal perturbations to the observed transiting planet caused by other planets in the system. TLV programs are a promising way of detecting planets not easily seen by any other planet-detection techniques, including Earth-like planets. Dr. Nesvorny will develop a new planet-detection method that has a capability of significantly advancing exoplanet detection. The new method relies on monitoring TLVs of known transiting exoplanets. Additional planets can be inferred from TLVs by their gravitational interactions with the transiting planet. He will use the new method to: (i) identify the detectability limits of planets from TLVs; (ii) estimate the measurement precision required for unique characterization of planetary systems; and (iii) determine the optimal observing strategy for transit observations. <br/><br/>The method developed here can be used to search for planets through TLV signals, estimate the measurement accuracies needed for such detections, and to determine the best observational strategies. The proposed work will thus increase the scientific outcome from satellite projects such as CoRoT and Kepler. Dr. Nesvorny also plans collaborations with staff at Denver Museum of Nature and Science to distribute the results from this study to the public.
