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arXiv · 2003.03499

The HOSTS survey for exozodiacal dust: Observational results from the complete survey

Steve Ertel·Denis Defrère·Philip M. Hinz·Bertrand Mennesson·Grant M. Kennedy·William C. Danchi·Christopher Gelino·John M. Hill·William F. Hoffmann·Johan Mazoyer·George Rieke·Andrew Shannon·Karl Stapelfeldt·Eckhart Spalding·Jordan M. Stone·Amali Vaz·Alycia J. Weinberger·Phil Willems·Olivier Absil·Paul Arbo·Vanessa P. Bailey·Charles Beichman·Geoffrey Bryden·Elwood C. Downey·Olivier Durney·Simone Esposito·Andras Gaspar·Paul Grenz·Chris A. Haniff·Jarron M. Leisenring·Lindsay Marion·Tom J. McMahon·Rafael Millan-Gabet·Oscar M. Montoya·Katie M. Morzinski·Saavidra Perera·Enrico Pinna·Jörg-Uwe Pott·Jennifer Power·Alfio Puglisi·Aki Roberge·Eugene Serabyn·Andrew J. Skemer·Kate Y. L. Su·Vidhya Vaitheeswaran·Mark C. Wyatt
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Abstract

The Large Binocular Telescope Interferometer (LBTI) enables nulling interferometric observations across the N band (8 to 13 um) to suppress a star's bright light and probe for faint circumstellar emission. We present and statistically analyze the results from the LBTI/HOSTS (Hunt for Observable Signatures of Terrestrial Systems) survey for exozodiacal dust. By comparing our measurements to model predictions based on the Solar zodiacal dust in the N band, we estimate a 1 sigma median sensitivity of 23 zodis for early type stars and 48 zodis for Sun-like stars, where 1 zodi is the surface density of habitable zone (HZ) dust in the Solar system. Of the 38 stars observed, 10 show significant excess. A clear correlation of our detections with the presence of cold dust in the systems was found, but none with the stellar spectral type or age. The majority of Sun-like stars have relatively low HZ dust levels (best-fit median: 3 zodis, 1 sigma upper limit: 9 zodis, 95% confidence: 27 zodis based on our N band measurements), while ~20% are significantly more dusty. The Solar system's HZ dust content is consistent with being typical. Our median HZ dust level would not be a major limitation to the direct imaging search for Earth-like exoplanets, but more precise constraints are still required, in particular to evaluate the impact of exozodiacal dust for the spectroscopic characterization of imaged exo-Earth candidates.

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Steve Ertel, Denis Defrère, Philip M. Hinz, Bertrand Mennesson, Grant M. Kennedy, William C. Danchi, Christopher Gelino, John M. Hill, William F. Hoffmann, Johan Mazoyer, George Rieke, Andrew Shannon, Karl Stapelfeldt, Eckhart Spalding, Jordan M. Stone, Amali Vaz, Alycia J. Weinberger, Phil Willems, Olivier Absil, Paul Arbo, Vanessa P. Bailey, Charles Beichman, Geoffrey Bryden, Elwood C. Downey, Olivier Durney, Simone Esposito, Andras Gaspar, Paul Grenz, Chris A. Haniff, Jarron M. Leisenring, Lindsay Marion, Tom J. McMahon, Rafael Millan-Gabet, Oscar M. Montoya, Katie M. Morzinski, Saavidra Perera, Enrico Pinna, Jörg-Uwe Pott, Jennifer Power, Alfio Puglisi, Aki Roberge, Eugene Serabyn, Andrew J. Skemer, Kate Y. L. Su, Vidhya Vaitheeswaran, Mark C. Wyatt. 2020-03-07. The HOSTS survey for exozodiacal dust: Observational results from the complete survey. https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-3881/ab7817

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