M-to-K: A Search for Low Mass Planets Around Low Mass Stars
We are carrying out a search for "hot Neptunes," low mass planets that orbit close to their host stars around late K and Mdwarf stars. By a vast margin, M dwarfs constitute the bulk population of our Galaxy. Among the ~150 known stars within 8 parsecs, ~120 are early-type M dwarfs, while only 15 are G dwarfs. The proximity of these stars makes them more amenable to follow-up studies with future space missions, including SIM, JWST, and warm Spitzer.
We are using a "quick-look" observing strategy similar to that used for the N2K project: we obtain spectra on 3-4 consecutive nights to (1) assess radial velocity variations, (2) calculate chromospheric activity and (3) carry out spectral synthesis modeling to determine the effective temperature, surface gravity and chemical composition of the host star. Stars that show low amplitude velocity variations are candidates for hosting short-period planets and we continue to monitor radial velocities in these stars and launch photometric follow-up studies to search for transit events.
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Co-Investigators:
Eric Gaidos (University of Hawaii)
Sebastien Lepine (American Museum of Natural History)
Jeff Valenti (Space Science Telescope Institute)
Todd Henry (Georgia State University)
Greg Henry (Tennessee State University)
Acknowledgements: We wish to thank NASA for support of this project:
