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SUMMARY:Gaussian process tools for exoplanet detection and characterisatio
 n - Vinesh Rajpaul (Oxford)
DTSTART:20160224T160000Z
DTEND:20160224T170000Z
UID:TALK63350@talks.cam.ac.uk
CONTACT:Dr B.-O. Demory
DESCRIPTION:The radial-velocity (RV) method has been one of the most produ
 ctive techniques for detecting extrasolar planetary candidates. Unfortunat
 ely\, stellar activity can induce RV variations which can drown out or eve
 n mimic planetary signals\, and it is extremely difficult to model and thu
 s mitigate these stellar signals. This is expected to be a major obstacle 
 to using next-generation instruments to detect lower mass planets\, planet
 s with longer periods\, and planets around more active stars. Enter Gaussi
 an processes (GPs)\, which have a number of attractive features that make 
 them very well suited to the joint modelling of stochastic activity proces
 ses and dynamical (e.g. planetary) signals. In this talk I'll present a GP
 -based framework for modelling RV time series jointly with ancillary activ
 ity indicators\, allowing the activity component of RV time series to be c
 onstrained and disentangled from planetary components. I will discuss its 
 use in practice\, and demonstrate its performance using both synthetic and
  real data sets. I will also sketch a few other recent and promising appli
 cations of GPs in the context of exoplanet detection\, including precise e
 xtraction of RV shifts directly from observed spectra\; characterising dif
 ferential stellar rotation\; and modelling in a systematic way the effects
  of an observing window function\, as proved relevant e.g. to the case of 
 Alpha Centauri B.
LOCATION:Martin Ryle Seminar Room\, Kavli Institute
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