Protostars and Planets VI, Heidelberg, July 15-20, 2013

Poster 2K012

SPOTS: The Search for Planets Orbiting Two Stars

Thalmann, Christian (Institute for Astronomy, ETH Zurich)
Desidera, Silvano (Astronomical Observatory of Padova)
Bergfors, Carolina (Max Planck Institute for Astronomy, Heidelberg)
Boccaletti, Anthony (Observatoire de Meudon, LESIA, Paris)
Bonavita, Mariangela (University of Toronto)
Carson, Joseph (College of Charleston)
Feldt, Markus (Max Planck Institute for Astronomy, Heidelberg)
Goto, Miwa (Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität, Munich)
Henning, Thomas (Max Planck Institute for Astronomy, Heidelberg)
Janson, Markus (Princeton University)
Klahr, Hubert (Max Planck Institute for Astronomy, Heidelberg)
Marzari, Francesco (Astronomical Observatory of Padova)
Mordasini, Christoph (Max Planck Institute for Astronomy, Heidelberg)

Abstract:
Over the last decade, a vast amount of effort has been poured into gaining a better understanding of the frequency and diversity of extrasolar planets. Yet, most of these studies focus on single stars, leaving the population of planets in multiple systems poorly explored. This investigational gap persists despite the fact that both theoretical and observational evidence suggest that such systems represent a significant fraction of the overall planet population. With SPOTS, the Search for Planets Orbiting Two Stars, we are now carrying out the first direct imaging campaign dedicated to circumbinary planets. Our long-term goals are to survey 66 spectroscopic binaries in H-band with VLT NaCo and VLT SPHERE over the course of 4–5 years. This will establish first constraints on the wide-orbit circumbinary planet population, and may yield the spectacular first image of a bona fide circumbinary planet. Here we report on the results of the first two years of the SPOTS survey, as well as on our ongoing observation program.

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