NOAO > Observing Info > Approved Programs > 2008B-0455
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NOAO > Observing Info > Approved Programs > 2008B-0455 |
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PI: Naved Mahmud, Rice University, cmj@rice.edu
Address: Physics Department, 6100 Main St., MS-108, Houston, TX 77005, USA
CoI: Christopher Johns-Krull, Rice University
CoI: Lisa Prato, Lowell Observatory
CoI: Patrick Hartigan, Rice University
CoI: Daniel Jaffe, University of Texas at Austin
Title: Brown Dwarf and Giant Planet Companions to Young Stars in Taurus
Abstract: We are surveying ~100 T Tauri stars in the Taurus star forming region to detect stellar reflex motions resulting from brown dwarf and giant planet companions. Searches for brown dwarfs and extrasolar planets have revealed that the frequency of these objects as close companions is extraordinarily rare, i.e. the brown dwarf desert. Brown dwarfs should be common at young ages within 3 AU if orbital migration causes the brown dwarf desert, but close brown dwarf companions will be rare at all ages if the desert is intrinsic to the star formation process. Our survey will provide the answer to this question and will identify the first generation of giant, extrasolar planets. Our brighter targets are being observed with 2-3 m telescopes at McDonald Observatory. We propose to use the KPNO 4-m to observe the fainter ~50 targets. Observations at McDonald demonstrate that we can identify spurious radial velocity measurements from starspots through photometric and bisector analysis, and that errors in radial velocity measurements made with echelle spectrographs (coude and cass mounted) are small compared with the expected signature of close substellar companions.
National Optical Astronomy Observatory, 950 North Cherry Avenue, P.O. Box 26732, Tucson, Arizona 85726, Phone: (520) 318-8000, Fax: (520) 318-8360
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NOAO > Observing Info > Approved Programs > 2008B-0455 |
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