A PROPOSED MID-INFRARED STUDY OF EXOPLANET 55 CNC E T. KWAN, C. DUNKLEE, R.S. FISHER THE UNIVERSITY OF OREGON DEPARTMENT OF PHYSICS A BRIEF INTRO TO EXOPLANETS AS OF OCTOBER 29 2014: 1,800 CONFIRMED EXOPLANETS 1,100 EXOPLANETARY SYSTEMS 460 MULTI-PLANET SYSTEMS EXOPLANETS RANGING FROM: 0.3 REARTH - 2 RJUPITER 0.02 MEARTH - 30 MJUPITER 5.8 HRORBIT - 163,000 YRORBIT KEPLER - HOST STARS WITH TRANSITING EXOPLANETS HTTP://EXOPLANETARCHIVE.IPAC.CALTECH.EDU/ HTTP://EN.WIKIPEDIA.ORG/WIKI/LIST_OF_EXOPLANET_EXTREMES A BRIEF INTRO TO EXOPLANETS METHODS OF DETECTION TRANSIT METHOD RADIAL VELOCITY DIRECT IMAGING PROJECT EXOPLANET: 55 CANCRI E 55 CNC SYSTEM 55 CNC E PROJECT EXOPLANET: 55 CANCRI E PROPOSITION 55 CNC E, HAVING AN ORBIT OF 0.01 AU (30X CLOSER TO ITS HOST STAR THAN MERCURY IS TO THE SUN) AND A PERIOD OF 18 HOURS… MUST BE UNDERGOING PHOTOEVAPORATIVE MASS LOSS (AKA VAPORIZATION) FROM PRESUMED EXPOSURE TO STELLAR RADIATION. IF SO, WOULD IT BE FEASIBLY DETECTABLE WITH GROUND BASED TELESCOPES AND IR INSTRUMENTS VIA INFRARED SPECTROSCOPY… PROJECT EXOPLANET: 55 CANCRI E DUST PRODUCTION RATES LITERATURE SEARCH TO ATTAIN GENERAL NUMERIC MASS LOSS RATES TO 55 CNC E OR 55 CNC E TYPE BODY1 MASS LOSS RATE: 105 - 1012 G/S 50 mJy @ 63 Ly @ 11µm emission = 4.00 X 1020 g with 1 g/cm3 2 63 Ly / 41 Ly = 1.536 [DISTANCE RELATION] 1.5362 = 2.361 [INVERSE SQUARE LAW] 2.361 X 50 mJy = 118 mJy [SCALING FACTOR] 1 Lecavelier des Etangs. 2006. A Diagram to Determine the Evaporation Status of Extrasolar Planets. Astronomy & Astrophysics. 2 Telesco, Fisher, Wyatt, Dermott, Kehoe, Novotny, Marinas, Radomski, Packham, De. Buizer, Hayward. 2005. Mid-infrared images of β Pictoris and the possible role of planetesimal collisions in the central disk. Nature, vol. 433, issue 7022, pp. 133-136 (2005). PROJECT EXOPLANET: 55 CANCRI E CANARICAM INTEGRATION TIME CALCULATOR 50 m J y EMISSION = 30 S/N/PX 118 m J y EMISSION = 100 S/N/PX (LOWER ESTIMATE) (UPPER ESTIMATE) PROJECT EXOPLANET: 55 CANCRI E INFRARED EXCESS DETERMINATION “INFRARED EXCESS” DOES THE SYSTEM EMIT MORE INFRARED RADIATION THAN IT SHOULD? IF INFRARED EXCESS IS DETECTED, SOMETHING IS ACTIVELY PRODUCING DUST WITHIN THE SYSTEM. PERHAPS THE RESULT OF VAPORIZATION OF 55 CNC E? PROJECT EXOPLANET: 55 CANCRI E INFRARED EXCESS DETERMINATION PROJECT EXOPLANET: 55 CANCRI E SPITZER ANALYSIS HOWEVER… WE FOUND IT UNLIKELY THAT SUCH A LARGE INFRARED EXCESS REMAINED UNDETECTED IN SUCH A WELL STUDIED SYSTEM… PROJECT EXOPLANET: 55 CANCRI E SPITZER ANALYSIS CONCLUSIONS ANALYSIS & RESULTS SPITZER DID NOT OBSERVE ANY MID INFRARED EXCESS (OR DUST FEATURES) FROM 55 CNC SYSTEM CROSSFIELD MODEL MUST HAVE CALIBRATION ERRORS SO EITHER: 55 CNC SYSTEM HAS NO MID INFRARED EMITTING DUST, OR IF IT DOES, THE AMOUNT IS TOO LITTLE TO FEASIBLY DETECT. CONCLUSIONS ONE FINAL QUESTION SED DATA SUGGESTS POTENTIAL VARIABILITY IN NEAR-INFRARED… COULD 55 CNC BE VARIABLE IN THE NEAR INFRARED? IF SO, DOES THIS SIGNIFY THE OCCASIONAL STOCHASTIC EVENTS OR FLARES FROM NEAR INFRARED EMITTING DUST? THANK YOU AND SPECIAL THANKS TO THE OREGON SPACE GRANT CONSORTIUM AND DR. SARAH BALLARD .