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2013 Annual Science Report

Pennsylvania State University Reporting  |  SEP 2012 – AUG 2013

Biosignatures in Extraterrestrial Settings

Project Summary

We are working on finding potentially habitable extrasolar planets, using a variety of search techniques, and developing some of the technology necessary to find and characterize low mass extrasolar planets. We also work on modeling and numerical techniques relevant to the problem of identifying extrasolar sites for life, and on some aspects of the prospects for life in the Solar System outside the Earth. The ultimate goal is to find signatures of life on nearby extrasolar planets.

4 Institutions
3 Teams
12 Publications
1 Field Site
Field Sites

Project Progress

4.1.1 Research by Kasting and collaborators shows SO2 is likely to be inadequate to explain early warm Mars. Collaboration with VPL, postdoctoral researcher Kopparapu and graduate student Ramirez. Details now reported in “Biosignatures in Ancient Rocks”

4.1.2 Continued research by Ohmoto and collaborators of early CH4 in the atmosphere of terrestrial planets and role of volcanoes in CO2 outgassing. Details now reported in “Biosignatures in Ancient Rocks”

4.2 Progress by Lyons and collaborators continued on CO abundance in the Sun and the C/O isotope ratios in the Sun and Solar System.

4.3 Mahadevan and collaborators in the Center for Exoplanets and Habitable Worlds continued work on spectrograph development, calibration and exoplanet spectroscopic surveys. Specifically work on the development of the APOGEE project, and the Habitable Planet Finder. Continued development of an infrared laser frequency comb for calibration of the HPF in collaboration with Dr. Diddams and Osterman and NIST Colorado.

Sigurdsson and collaborators in the Center for Exoplanets and Habitable Worlds continued research on exoplanets and with graduate student Rachel Worth continued project on radial transport in the solar system in collaboration with Prof. House.

Graduate students Matthew Route and Sarah Gettel working with Prof. Wolszczan completed their PhD projects on sub-stellar companions and massive planets around giant stars, respectively.

Prof. Wright and collaborators in the Center for Exoplanets and Habitable Worlds continued ongoing observations of exoplanets and looking for new exoplanets, using radial velocity monitoring, and started a new project on early Solar System formation. Prof. Wright continued work on the Exoplanets catalog http://exoplanets.org/

Prof. Eric Ford joined the Center for Exoplanets and Habitable Worlds and PSARC in July 2013, bringing with him a research group of 3 graduate students from the University of Florida.

Publications

  • Ayres, T. R., Lyons, J. R., Ludwig, H-G., Caffau, E., & Wedemeyer-Böhm, S. (2013). IS THE SUN LIGHTER THAN THE EARTH? ISOTOPIC CO IN THE PHOTOSPHERE, VIEWED THROUGH THE LENS OF THREE-DIMENSIONAL SPECTRUM SYNTHESIS. The Astrophysical Journal, 765(1), 46. doi:10.1088/0004-637x/765/1/46

  • Bender, C. F., Mahadevan, S., Deshpande, R., Wright, J. T., Roy, A., Terrien, R. C., … Fleming, S. W. (2012). THE SDSS-HET SURVEY OF KEPLER ECLIPSING BINARIES: SPECTROSCOPIC DYNAMICAL MASSES OF THE KEPLER-16 CIRCUMBINARY PLANET HOSTS. The Astrophysical Journal, 751(2), L31. doi:10.1088/2041-8205/751/2/l31

  • Crepp, J. R., Johnson, J. A., Fischer, D. A., Howard, A. W., Marcy, G. W., Wright, J. T., … Brewer, J. M. (2012). THE DYNAMICAL MASS AND THREE-DIMENSIONAL ORBIT OF HR7672B: A BENCHMARK BROWN DWARF WITH HIGH ECCENTRICITY. The Astrophysical Journal, 751(2), 97. doi:10.1088/0004-637x/751/2/97

  • Crepp, J. R., Johnson, J. A., Howard, A. W., Marcy, G. W., Fischer, D. A., Hillenbrand, L. A., … Montet, B. T. (2012). THE TRENDS HIGH-CONTRAST IMAGING SURVEY. I. THREE BENCHMARK M DWARFS ORBITING SOLAR-TYPE STARS. The Astrophysical Journal, 761(1), 39. doi:10.1088/0004-637x/761/1/39

  • Dragomir, D., Kane, S. R., Henry, G. W., Ciardi, D. R., Fischer, D. A., Howard, A. W., … Wright, J. T. (2012). THE HD 192263 SYSTEM: PLANETARY ORBITAL PERIOD AND STELLAR VARIABILITY DISENTANGLED. The Astrophysical Journal, 754(1), 37. doi:10.1088/0004-637x/754/1/37

  • Fischer, D. A., Gaidos, E., Howard, A. W., Giguere, M. J., Johnson, J. A., Marcy, G. W., … Szymkowiak, A. (2011). M2K. II. A TRIPLE-PLANET SYSTEM ORBITING HIP 57274. The Astrophysical Journal, 745(1), 21. doi:10.1088/0004-637x/745/1/21

  • Giguere, M. J., Fischer, D. A., Howard, A. W., Johnson, J. A., Henry, G. W., Wright, J. T., … Spronck, J. (2011). A HIGH-ECCENTRICITY COMPONENT IN THE DOUBLE-PLANET SYSTEM AROUND HD 163607 AND A PLANET AROUND HD 164509. The Astrophysical Journal, 744(1), 4. doi:10.1088/0004-637x/744/1/4

  • Miller, B. P., Gallo, E., Wright, J. T., & Dupree, A. K. (2012). ON THE DETECTABILITY OF STAR-PLANET INTERACTION. The Astrophysical Journal, 754(2), 137. doi:10.1088/0004-637x/754/2/137

  • Wang, S. X., Wright, J. T., Cochran, W., Kane, S. R., Henry, G. W., Payne, M. J., … Braun, K. v. (2012). THE DISCOVERY OF HD 37605 c AND A DISPOSITIVE NULL DETECTION OF TRANSITS OF HD 37605 b. The Astrophysical Journal, 761(1), 46. doi:10.1088/0004-637x/761/1/46

  • Wright, J. T., Marcy, G. W., Howard, A. W., Johnson, J. A., Morton, T. D., & Fischer, D. A. (2012). THE FREQUENCY OF HOT JUPITERS ORBITING NEARBY SOLAR-TYPE STARS. The Astrophysical Journal, 753(2), 160. doi:10.1088/0004-637x/753/2/160

  • Zhao, M., Milburn, J., Barman, T., Hinkley, S., Swain, M. R., Wright, J., & Monnier, J. D. (2012). DETECTION OF K S -BAND THERMAL EMISSION FROM WASP-3b. The Astrophysical Journal, 748(1), L8. doi:10.1088/2041-8205/748/1/l8

  • Ayres T.R., T.R., Lyons, J.R., Ludwig, H-., Caffau., E. & Wedemeyr-Bohm, S.  (2013).  Solar Carbon Monoxide: Poster Child for 3D Effects.  Mem. S.A.It, 1.