Observing bright stars and their planets from the Earth and from space
<p>The discovery and characterization of extrasolar planets is a leading frontier of science, which is limited by our ability to extract real astrophysical signals masked by systematic noise. In this Thesis I develop techniques for self-calibration in optical astronomy, in both imaging and pho...
| Egile nagusia: | |
|---|---|
| Beste egile batzuk: | |
| Formatua: | Thesis |
| Argitaratua: |
2017
|
| Gaiak: |
| _version_ | 1826299038209671168 |
|---|---|
| author | Pope, B |
| author2 | Aigrain, S |
| author_facet | Aigrain, S Pope, B |
| author_sort | Pope, B |
| collection | OXFORD |
| description | <p>The discovery and characterization of extrasolar planets is a leading frontier of science, which is limited by our ability to extract real astrophysical signals masked by systematic noise. In this Thesis I develop techniques for self-calibration in optical astronomy, in both imaging and photometry, applicable both to observations from the ground and for space telescopes, and apply these to searching for exoplanets. </p> <p>Kernel phase interferometry is a method for improving high angular resolution astronomical imaging by cancelling out the effects of the turbulent atmosphere. I derive a generalization, kernel amplitude, to correct also for the effects of scintillation, or twinkling. I go on to demonstrate kernel phase for the first time from the ground using the Palomar Hale 200-Inch Telescope, as a test case for the extreme adaptive optics instruments SPHERE and GPI.</p> <p>The <em>Kepler</em> satellite and its successor, the <em>K2</em> mission, have been crucial to our understanding both of exoplanets, and via asteroseismology, of stellar physics. The success of <em>K2</em> depends on correcting for its unstable pointing. Using semi-parametric Bayesian statistical models to overcome this issue, I report the discovery of 145 new transiting planet candidates in data from Campaigns 5 and 6 of the <em>K2</em> mission. Furthermore, with two novel techniques, 'smear' and 'halo' photometry, which dramatically extend the dynamic range of <em>Kepler</em> and <em>K2</em>, I recover light curves of bright stars that were previously too saturated to study, and definitively detect variability in the seven naked-eye stars in the Pleiades cluster. These new data analysis approaches enable the <em>K2</em> and TESS space missions to discover planets transiting the nearest and brightest stars, which will be ideal targets for the coming era of exoplanet characterization.</p> |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-07T04:55:49Z |
| format | Thesis |
| id | oxford-uuid:d692bf96-ccf8-47bf-b246-1bbedcce60e5 |
| institution | University of Oxford |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-07T04:55:49Z |
| publishDate | 2017 |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | oxford-uuid:d692bf96-ccf8-47bf-b246-1bbedcce60e52022-03-27T08:34:28ZObserving bright stars and their planets from the Earth and from spaceThesishttp://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_db06uuid:d692bf96-ccf8-47bf-b246-1bbedcce60e5AstrophysicsORA Deposit2017Pope, BAigrain, S<p>The discovery and characterization of extrasolar planets is a leading frontier of science, which is limited by our ability to extract real astrophysical signals masked by systematic noise. In this Thesis I develop techniques for self-calibration in optical astronomy, in both imaging and photometry, applicable both to observations from the ground and for space telescopes, and apply these to searching for exoplanets. </p> <p>Kernel phase interferometry is a method for improving high angular resolution astronomical imaging by cancelling out the effects of the turbulent atmosphere. I derive a generalization, kernel amplitude, to correct also for the effects of scintillation, or twinkling. I go on to demonstrate kernel phase for the first time from the ground using the Palomar Hale 200-Inch Telescope, as a test case for the extreme adaptive optics instruments SPHERE and GPI.</p> <p>The <em>Kepler</em> satellite and its successor, the <em>K2</em> mission, have been crucial to our understanding both of exoplanets, and via asteroseismology, of stellar physics. The success of <em>K2</em> depends on correcting for its unstable pointing. Using semi-parametric Bayesian statistical models to overcome this issue, I report the discovery of 145 new transiting planet candidates in data from Campaigns 5 and 6 of the <em>K2</em> mission. Furthermore, with two novel techniques, 'smear' and 'halo' photometry, which dramatically extend the dynamic range of <em>Kepler</em> and <em>K2</em>, I recover light curves of bright stars that were previously too saturated to study, and definitively detect variability in the seven naked-eye stars in the Pleiades cluster. These new data analysis approaches enable the <em>K2</em> and TESS space missions to discover planets transiting the nearest and brightest stars, which will be ideal targets for the coming era of exoplanet characterization.</p> |
| spellingShingle | Astrophysics Pope, B Observing bright stars and their planets from the Earth and from space |
| title | Observing bright stars and their planets from the Earth and from space |
| title_full | Observing bright stars and their planets from the Earth and from space |
| title_fullStr | Observing bright stars and their planets from the Earth and from space |
| title_full_unstemmed | Observing bright stars and their planets from the Earth and from space |
| title_short | Observing bright stars and their planets from the Earth and from space |
| title_sort | observing bright stars and their planets from the earth and from space |
| topic | Astrophysics |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT popeb observingbrightstarsandtheirplanetsfromtheearthandfromspace |