Previous | Session 5 | Next | Author Index | Block Schedule
S. R. Kulkarni (Caltech), B. Hansen (UCLA), M. van Kerkwijk (U. Toronto), E. S. Phinney (Caltech)
As part of our Interdisciplinary Scientist effort (PI, Kulkarni) for the Space Interferometry Mission (SIM) we proposed an investigation with SIM of a number of exceptional stars. With SIM we plan to observe dozens of nearby white dwarfs and search for planets surviving the evolution away from the main sequence as well as (newly formed) planets formed in the circumbinary disks of post-AGB binaries or as a result of white dwarf mergers. We propose to measure the proper motion of a sample of X-ray binaries and Be star binaries with the view of understanding the originof high latitude objects and inferring natal kicks and pre-supernova orbits. We plan to observe several compact object binaries to determine the mass of the compact star. Of particular importance is the proposed observation of SS 433 (for which we propose to use the spectrometer on SIM to measure the proper motion of the emission line clumps embedded in the relativistic jets). Separately we are investigating the issue of frame tie between SIM and the ecliptic frame (by observing binary millisecond pulsars with SIM; the position of these objects is very well determined by pulsar timing) and the degree to which highly precise visibility amplitude measurements can be inverted to infer binary parameters.
Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society, 37 #4
© 2005. The American Astronomical Soceity.