Direct Imaging Characterization of Exoplanets and Circumstellar Disks

Recently, the first exoplanets have been imaged around young as well as main sequence stars, representing a major scientific breakthrough in our understanding of extrasolar giant planets. Directly measuring colors, spectra, and luminosities provides much-needed constraints on the temperatures and compositions of these objects. The ensemble of directly imaged exoplanets as well as contrast information from the surveys which yielded them also allow the most accurate
determination of the distribution of wide extrasolar giant planets to date, a valuable constraint for models of planet formation. Young planets exist in interplay with the disks that formed them; thus, directly imaging these disks also yields vital clues about unseen planets as well as planetary formation.

Clemence will help reduce and analyse VLT Sparse Aperture Masking data as well as survey data from the Gemini-South NICI Planet Finding Campaign, the Subaru SEEDS survey (Strategic Exploration of Exoplanet and Disk Systems), and the LBT LEECH survey. In addition to single-object studies of directly imaged planets and circumstellar disks, the student will work on statistical analyses of large direct imaging survey samples.