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D.A. Fischer, G.W. Marcy, B.R. Oppenheimer (UC Berkeley), A. Quirrenbach, S. Frink (UC San Diego), D.G. Monet (USNO), J. Scargle (NASA-Ames), R.P. Butler (Carnegie Institution of Washington)
We are witnessing the birth of a new observational science: the discovery and characterization of extrasolar planetary systems. In the past five years, more than 50 extrasolar planets have been discovered by precision Doppler survey, many by members of this SIM team. We will use the database of information gleaned from our Doppler survey to choose the best targets for a new SIM planet search.
We aim to 1) detect terrestrial planets of 1-3 earth masses around stars closer than 8 pc, 2) detect 3-20 earth mass planets around stars at a distance of 8 - 30 pc, 3) determine absolute masses of Doppler-detected planets and search for additional planets, 4) determine the degree of co-planarity in multiple systems.
In the same way that our Doppler database now serves SIM, our SIM project will return a reconnaissance database to focus TPF into a more productive, efficient mission.
The author(s) of this abstract have provided an email address for comments about the abstract: fischer@serpens.berkeley.edu