Name:Mawet, Dimitri
Email:dmawet@eso.org
Institution:Caltech
Title:WISE as an Exoplanet Finder: An Exoplanet Imaging Survey of WISE Debris Disk Stars Spanning Two Hemispheres
Topic:Discoveries
Abstract:I will describe a multi-year Adaptive Optics imaging survey at Keck and VLT for planetary mass companions to a new sample of debris disks stars recently identified by WISE. Our goal is to discover, or place limits on, planetary mass companions that are signalled by the presence of the warm debris material. We have obtained deep, coronagraphic imaging of over 250 stars, and our survey sensitivity provides sufficient contrast to identify objects with brightnesses comparable to the faintest HR 8799 planet in only a few minutes. Importantly, nearly all of our targets have not been targetted by other comparable-sized surveys (IDPS, SEEDS, NICI, etc.). All the stars in our sample show a 22 micron excess, and we have focussed primarily on stars with A and F spectral types. Further, the mean 22 micron excess for our ensemble of stars is similar to that of HR 8799, indicating that our targets have warm debris material comparable to that of HR 8799, or even stronger. We have identified roughly 100 candidate companions to our sample, many of which would be planetary mass companions if they are determined to be co-moving.