TY - UNPB
T1 - Searching for exosatellites orbiting L and T dwarfs
T2 - connecting planet formation to moon formation and finding new temperate worlds
AU - Muirhead, Philip S.
AU - Skinner, Julie N.
AU - Radigan, Jacqueline
AU - Triaud, Amaury
AU - Theissen, Christopher
AU - Gagliuffi, Daniella Bardalez
AU - Tamburo, Patrick
AU - Burgasser, Adam
AU - Faherty, Jacqueline
AU - Stephens, Denise
N1 - Science white paper submitted to the Astro 2020 Decadal Survey on Astronomy and Astrophysics
PY - 2019/3/18
Y1 - 2019/3/18
N2 - L-type and T-type dwarfs span the boundaries between main-sequence stars, brown dwarfs, and planetary-mass objects. For these reasons, L and T dwarfs are the perfect laboratories for exploring the relationship between planet formation and moon formation, and evidence suggests they may be swarming with close-in rocky satellites, though none have been found to date. The discovery of satellites orbiting L or T dwarfs will have transformative implications for the nature of planets, moons and even life in the Universe. These transiting satellites will be prime targets for characterization with NASA's James Webb Space Telescope. In this white paper, we discuss the scientific motivations behind searching for transiting satellites orbiting L and T dwarfs and argue that robotizing current 1-to-2-meter US optical/infrared (O/IR) facilities and equipping them with recently developed low-cost infrared imagers will enable these discoveries in the next decade. Furthermore, robotizing the 1-to-2-meter O/IR fleet is highly synergistic with rapid follow-up of transient and multi-messenger events.
AB - L-type and T-type dwarfs span the boundaries between main-sequence stars, brown dwarfs, and planetary-mass objects. For these reasons, L and T dwarfs are the perfect laboratories for exploring the relationship between planet formation and moon formation, and evidence suggests they may be swarming with close-in rocky satellites, though none have been found to date. The discovery of satellites orbiting L or T dwarfs will have transformative implications for the nature of planets, moons and even life in the Universe. These transiting satellites will be prime targets for characterization with NASA's James Webb Space Telescope. In this white paper, we discuss the scientific motivations behind searching for transiting satellites orbiting L and T dwarfs and argue that robotizing current 1-to-2-meter US optical/infrared (O/IR) facilities and equipping them with recently developed low-cost infrared imagers will enable these discoveries in the next decade. Furthermore, robotizing the 1-to-2-meter O/IR fleet is highly synergistic with rapid follow-up of transient and multi-messenger events.
KW - astro-ph.EP
KW - astro-ph.SR
M3 - Working paper
T3 - Astro2020 Science White Paper
BT - Searching for exosatellites orbiting L and T dwarfs
ER -