Spitzer Space Telescope - Archive Research Proposal #40412


Study of solar-type stars with planets, planetesimals and dust

Principal Investigator: Amaya Moro-Martin
           Institution: Princeton University

     Technical Contact: Amaya Moro-Martin, Princeton University

Co-Investigators: 
Sebastian Wolf, Max Plank Institute for Astronomy in Heidelberg       
Thomas Henning, Max Plank Institute for Astronomy in Heidelberg       

Science Category: circumstellar/debris disks 
Dollars Approved: 40000 

Abstract:
We propose to estimate the location of the dust and the parent planetesimals in
six of the nine planetary systems known to date to harbor both giant planets and
debris disks. These six stars show excess emission at 70 micron but not at 24
microns, implying the presence of an inner region depleted of warm dust, with
the bulk of the emission arising from cool material (T<100K) located mainly
beyond 10 AU. This means that these stars not only harbor planets but also
harbor an outer belt of dust-producing planetesimals and in this regard they
resemble the Solar Sytem in its Jovian planets + Kuiper Belt configuration.
Detailed SED and dynamical analysis of these systems has not yet been published.
The results of this study will increase our understanding of the diversity of
planetary systems, and will help us place our Solar System into context.