2008/01/09 by Rosanne Di Stefano, Di Stefano, Rosanne, Christopher Night +1
Physics and Astronomy · #Astrophysics (astro-ph) #FOS: Physical sciences #astro-ph
paper · pdf · doi:10.48550/arxiv.0801.1510
12 pages, 3 figures, 1 table
arxiv created 2008/01/09 · arxiv updated 2009/12/01
We demonstrate that gravitational lensing can be used to discover and study planets in the habitable zones of nearby dwarf stars. If appropriate software is developed, a new generation of monitoring programs will automatically conduct a census of nearby planets in the habitable zones of dwarf stars. In addition, individual nearby dwarf stars can produce lensing events at predictable times; careful monitoring of these events can discover any planets located in the zone of habitability. Because lensing can discover planets (1) in face-on orbits, and (2) in orbit around the dimmest stars, lensing techniques will provide complementary information to that gleaned through Doppler and/or transit investigations. The ultimate result will be a comprehensive understanding of the variety of systems with conditions similar to those that gave rise to life on Earth.