Collaborative Research: Exploring the Compositions of Exoplanetary Systems with Observations and Modeling of Dusty Circumstellar Disks

The goal of this proposal is to determine the composition of rocky material orbiting other stars. When rocks collide, they release small dust particles that reflect and absorb starlight. This project will involve both observations of this dust around other stars and modeling of that dust. The location of dust is interesting because it reveals where small rocky asteroids formed and were left unperturbed by planets. Modeling of the dust can reveal what it is made of, such as the amounts of silicon, oxygen, ice, and carbon. Small rocky bodies are the building blocks of planets. Dust and asteroid compositions provide a window into the types of planets that may also orbit those stars. At Carnegie, each summer an undergraduate student who does not have access to research at their home institution will participate in this research program and be part of a cohort of students who will participate in professional development and team-building activities designed to enhance their research experience. A graduate student will benefit from co-mentorship that includes training in astronomical instrumentation at University of Arizona and in interdisciplinary scientific research a Carnegie’s Earth and Planets Laboratory. The investigators will use a new imaging system, MagAO-X, at the Magellan Telescope. This system removes the distorting effects of the Earth’s atmosphere so that images of other stars are as sharp as possible. Disks of dust around other stars faintly reflect the light of their stars, and MagAO-X can observe the color of this reflected light. To interpret the images, the investigators will make models of how dust of different composition reflects starlight. A graduate student and undergraduate students will work on the project. They will get training in interdisciplinary astronomical and planetary sciences and in telescope hardware. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.