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Main Author: Brandt, Timothy D.
Format: Preprint
Published: 2024
Subjects:
Online Access:https://arxiv.org/abs/2406.11593
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author Brandt, Timothy D.
author_facet Brandt, Timothy D.
contents This tutorial covers the use of absolute astrometry, in particular from the combination of the Hipparcos and Gaia missions, to identify faint companions to nearby stars and to measure the masses and orbits of those companions. Absolute astrometry has been used with increasing success to discover new planets and brown dwarfs and to measure masses and orbits for systems with periods as long as centuries. This tutorial summarizes the nature of the underlying astrometric data, the approach typically used to fit orbits, and the assumptions about that data implicit throughout the process. It attempts to provide intuition for the sensitivity of astrometry as a function of stellar and companion properties and how the available constraints depend on the character and quantity of data available. This tutorial is written for someone with some background in astronomy but with no more than a minimal acquaintance with astrometry or orbit fitting.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2406_11593
institution arXiv
publishDate 2024
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Astrometry as a Tool for Discovering and Weighing Faint Companions to Nearby Stars
Brandt, Timothy D.
Instrumentation and Methods for Astrophysics
Earth and Planetary Astrophysics
Solar and Stellar Astrophysics
This tutorial covers the use of absolute astrometry, in particular from the combination of the Hipparcos and Gaia missions, to identify faint companions to nearby stars and to measure the masses and orbits of those companions. Absolute astrometry has been used with increasing success to discover new planets and brown dwarfs and to measure masses and orbits for systems with periods as long as centuries. This tutorial summarizes the nature of the underlying astrometric data, the approach typically used to fit orbits, and the assumptions about that data implicit throughout the process. It attempts to provide intuition for the sensitivity of astrometry as a function of stellar and companion properties and how the available constraints depend on the character and quantity of data available. This tutorial is written for someone with some background in astronomy but with no more than a minimal acquaintance with astrometry or orbit fitting.
title Astrometry as a Tool for Discovering and Weighing Faint Companions to Nearby Stars
topic Instrumentation and Methods for Astrophysics
Earth and Planetary Astrophysics
Solar and Stellar Astrophysics
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2406.11593