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The Graz Team:

COROT

In co-operation with the Institute for Astronomy, Vienna University, the Space Research Institute (IWF) contributes to the French space telescope mission Convection, Rotation and Planetary Transits (COROT). The scientific goal is the investigation of dynamic processes in the interior of stars and the search and survey of extra solar planets. In both cases, astroseismology and exoplanetology, the variation of the brightness of stars is the key parameter. The determination of these variations is done by high precision photometry, with a resolution better than 10 ppm. In astroseismology, the amplitude and frequency of brightness variations is used to derive the oscillation mode and furthermore to determine the physical and chemical processes in the interior. Variations in the brightness can be caused by bypassing planets too, therefore this effect is used to identify extrasolar planets. To distinguish variation due to oscillations from bypassing planets, spectral analysis in the read and blue zone is performed. In astroseismology, only a few targets are observed, while in exoplanetology the data of 6000 stars are processed simultaneously.

The COROT instrument is developed and built by an international consortium under the leadership of the Observatoire de Paris, Meudon, and the Centre National d'Etudes Spatiales (CNES). IWF develops the so-called extractor (Boîtes Extracteur, BEX) a computer system with dedicated pre-processors for the selection and classification of image data. The in-house developed pre-processors allow the identification of pixels, which are part of pre-defined image areas, up to a data rate of 200 kpixel/sec. The essential technology is hardware supported data mining under the constraints for real-time operation. In addition to the development and assembly of the space-proofed hard- and software as well as the ground support equipment, the institute will participate in the integration and test campaign.

A detailed description of the COROT mission, the instrument design and a list of contributing institutions can be found at the COROT homepage of CNES.

Publikations:

1.  Aigrain et al.: Transiting exoplanets from the CoRoT space mission, IV. CoRoT-Exo-4b: A transiting planet in a 9.2 day synchronous orbit, Astron. Astrophys, 488, L43–L46, doi:10.1051/0004-6361:200810246, 2008.
2.  Alonso et al.: Transiting exoplanets from the CoRoT space mission, II. CoRoT-Exo-2b: A transiting planet around an active G star, Astron. Astrophys., 482, L21-L24, doi:10.1051/0004-6361:200809431, 2008.
3.  Barge et al.: Transiting exoplanets from the CoRoT space mission, I. CoRoT-Exo-1b: A low-density short-period planet around a G0V star, Astron. Astrophys., 482, L17-L20, doi:10.1051/0004-6361:200809353, 2008.
4.  Bouchy et al.: Transiting exoplanets from the CoRoT space mission, III. The spectroscopic transit of CoRoT-Exo-2b with SOPHIE and HARPS, Astron. Astrophys., 482, L25–L28, doi:10.1051/0004-6361:200809433, 2008.
5.  Deleuil et al.: Transiting exoplanets from the CoRoT space mission, VI. CoRoT-Exo-3b: The first secure inhabitant of the brown-dwarf desert, Astron. Astrophys., 491, 889–897, doi:10.1051/0004-6361:200810625, 2008.
6.  Moutou et al.: Transiting exoplanets from the CoRoT space mission, V. CoRoT-Exo-4b: Stellar and planetary parameters, Astron. Astrophys., 488, L47–L50, doi:10.1051/0004-6361:200810273, 2008.
7.  Penz et al.: Mass loss from ‘‘Hot Jupiters’’ - Implications for CoRoT discoveries, Part II: Long time thermal atmospheric evaporation modeling, Planet. Space Sci., 56, 1260–1272, doi:10.1016/j.pss.2008.04.005, 2008.
8.  Khodachenko et al.: Mass loss of Hot Jupiters - Implications for CoRoT discoveries. Part 1: The importance of magnetospheric protection of a planet against ion loss caused by coronal mass ejections, Planet. Space Sci., 55, 631-642, 2007.
9.  Selsis et al.: Could we identify hot ocean-planets with CoRoT, Kepler and Doppler velocimetry?, Icarus, 191, 453-468, doi:10.1016/j.icarus.2007.04.010, 2007.
Last update: 12/29/09
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