Marc Kuchner Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics

Marc Kuchner

Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics

Keck Interferometer Nuller Shared-Risk Science Program

Zodiacal LightClementine 1994

RadiationPressure

10 yrP-R Drag

10 yr6

Terrestrial Planet Finder /Darwin ?

Terrestrial Planet Finder /Darwin ?

Vegaarcsec

arcsec

IRAM Plateau de Bure 1.3 mm

1) YSO Disks

2) Exozodiacal Dust

3) Hot Jupiters

Keck Interferometer Nuller Shared-Risk Science Program

Keck Nulling Interferometer

Keck Thermal Background Remover and

High Accuracy Interferometer

Terms with no Thermal Background

Real Source Intensity

1) YSO disks

TW Hydra, NICMOS

surface

star

rim

interior

1500 K

Small Grain Sublimation

Balbus-Hawley Turbulence?

Magnetic Truncation ?

3d 6d

2) Exozodiacal Dust

Eridani, JCMT

ZODIPIChttp://cfa-www.harvard.edu/~mkuchner

Optically-Thin Dust DiskModeling Software

IDL

Image 1-Visibility

Simulate Keck Nuller Data

•Photon Noise•Stellar Leak (10% Uncertain)•(u,v) coverage for star•Distribution of i, PA•0.5 m bands covering 10-12.5m

Try to Recover Optical Depth ofCloud from Simulated Data by

Fitting Models

simulated measurement error

nig

hts

assumed uncertainty in stellar leakage

resultinguncertainty in

measurement of10x Solar Cloud

optical depth

>800 K, <20 pc

Roaster (<0.5 AU)or

Young (<10 years) 9

3) Hot Jupiters

Inside Quadratic Null

•star and planet are spectrallydegenerate ( )

•planet and flux are

degenerate

Break with(u,v) coverage?knowledge of stellar leak?

-4

ObserveNow

Simulate Keck Nuller Data

•Photon Noise•Stellar Leak (10% Uncertain)•(u,v) coverage for star•1 night, zenith angle < 45°•50% Observing Efficiency•Distribution of i,

fluxmeasurement

error

Principle InvestigatorsWesley TraubMarc Kuchner

Co-InvestigatorsDana BackmanMatthew HolmanRay JayawardhanaRafael Millan-GabetJohn MonnierAndreas Quirrenbach

JPL CollaboratorsMark ColavitaMichelle Creech-EakmanChris KoreskoBertrand MennessonGene Searbyn