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The polarization signature of extra-solar planets

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  17 May 2006

J. Hough ,
P. W. Lucas  and
J. Bailey
J. Hough
Affiliation:
Centre for Astrophysics Research, University of Hertfordshire, Hatfield AL10 9AB, England email: [email protected]
P. W. Lucas
Affiliation:
Centre for Astrophysics Research, University of Hertfordshire, Hatfield AL10 9AB, England email: [email protected]
J. Bailey
Affiliation:
Australian Centre for Astrobiology, Macquarie University, NSW 2109, Australia email: [email protected]
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Abstract

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Despite recent advances in the study of extra-solar planets the detection of reflected light from planetary atmospheres remains a major goal. For the so-called hot-Jupiters, which are unlikely to be spatially resolved from the central star in the foreseeable future, very high sensitivity measurements are required to detect the reflected signal from the very much larger direct starlight. We describe an optical photo-polarimeter designed to have a polarization sensitivity of at least 1 in $10^6$ and some early observations made in an attempt to detect the polarization signature of $\tau$ Boo b. We discuss the role of such an instrument for the planned ELTs.

Keywords

Instrumentation: polarimetersPlanets: extrasolar planets
Type
Contributed Papers
Information
Proceedings of the International Astronomical Union , Volume 1 , Symposium S232: Scientific Requirements for Extremely Large Telescopes , November 2005 , pp. 350 - 355
Copyright
2006 International Astronomical Union