SEARCH FOR RADIO EMISSIONS FROM EXTRASOLAR PLANETS
Abstract
Similar to what has been observed from Jupiter, strong stellar winds
and impulsive events on stars are believed to cause non-thermal radio
emissions from their planets in the 10 to 1000 MHz range. A study
is proposed to estimate the radio emission characteristics of a
suitable sub-set of known
extrasolar planets, and develop a strategy to carry out observations
with the goal to detect one of them. The strategy will be
implemented with an observation run(s) mid-2004 at a yet to be
determined low frequency array (funded separately, via other
sources). The workshop is to be held at ISSI, with one meeting (1
week) in March of 2004, and a follow-up meeting (1 week) after the
observations in the late 2004 or spring of 2005.
The major goals of meeting 1 is to:
- Discuss the underlying physics of planetary radio emissions
(Proximity to primary; Star/stellar wind type; Planetary magnetic
field, etc.), and decide on methods to estimate signal emission
strength and frequency.
- Develop an observation strategy – Pick a suitable set of targets
from a list of extrasolar planets
- Determine which radio array(s) are most suitable for the
observations, and how to access them.
Meeting 2 will discuss the results of the observations, after some
analysis of the data has been accomplished. The proposed workshop
will be attended by experts in radio astronomy, solar wind/planet
interactions, and extrasolar planet searches. Depending on the
overall return from this effort, a publication such as an ISSI series
book detailing the results and observational method, is
envisioned. A publication is particularly important in view of
the planned LOFAR array, which is to come on line in the 2006-7 time
frame.
The Team
The team is comprised of researcher active in the fields of radio
and visual astronomy, planetary formation, and solar wind/planet
interaction:
* Daniel Winterhalter (Lead), Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Caltech, USA, (daniel.winterhalter@jpl.nasa.gov).
* Geoffrey Bryden, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Caltech, USA, (geoffrey.bryden@jpl.nasa.gov).
* C. H. Ishwara Chandra, National Centre for Radio Astrophysics, India (ishwar@ncra.tifr.res.in).
William Farrell, NASA/Goddart Space Flight Center, USA (william.farrell@gsfc.nasa.gov).
* Walter Gonzalez, Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas Espaciais, Brazil (gonzalez@dge.inpe.br).
Samuel Gulkis, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Caltech, USA (samuel.gulkis@jpl.nasa.gov).
Marc Kuchner, Princeton University, USA (mkuchner@astro.princeton.edu).
Thomas Kuiper, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Caltech, USA (Thomas.Kuiper@jpl.nasa.gov).
Joseph Lazio, Naval Research Laboratory, USA (Joseph.Lazio@nrl.navy.mil).
Alain Lecacheux, Observatoire de Paris, Nancay France (Alain.Lecacheux@obspm.fr).
Boris Ryabov, Institute of Radio Astronomy, Ukraine (rai@ira.kharkov.ua).
* Rudolf Treumann, Max-Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial
Physics, Germany, (tre@mpe.mpg.de).
Stephane Udry, Observatoire de Genève, Switzerland (stephane.udry@obs.unige.ch).
Russel White, California Institute of Technology, USA (rjw@astro.caltech.edu).
Harold Yorke, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Caltech, USA (harold.yorke@jpl.nasa.gov).
* Philippe Zarka, Observatoire de Paris, Meudon, France (philippe.zarka@obspm.fr).
(* Denotes attendee of meeting 1.)
Report of Meeting 1
