AGO

Séminaires du
Département d'Astrophysique, Géophysique et Océanographie

http://www.ago.ulg.ac.be/PeM/Semi

Jeudi 01 octobre, 16h00

Salle de réunion AGO (local -1/14)
Institut d'Astrophysique et de Géophysique
Quartier Agora, Allée du 6 Août, 19C, B-4000 Liège 1 (Sart-Tilman)

The effect of stellar surface granulation on spectral line variability

Cis Lagae
(University of Warwick, UK)



Radial velocity noise from the exoplanet hosting star, originating from stellar activity such as faculae and granulation, hampers the detection and characterization of earth-mass exoplanets. A profound understanding of how spectral lines behave in the presence of these stellar components is necessary to eliminate such radial velocity noise from observations. In this context, we have built a framework that isolates and characterizes the radial velocity signature due to granulation for individual, synthetic, spectral lines computed from 3D stellar models. Building on this, we expanded the method to larger spectral regions, including tens of spectral lines, with the goal of mimicking real disk-integrated stellar observations. Using this method, we have quantified how granulation affects the properties and radial velocities of spectral lines differentially, from disk center to the stellar limb. We found that certain groups of lines behave radically differently than others, based on their atomic parameters and line depth. In addition, we investigated how different methods of computing radial velocities affect these relationships. Ultimately, this work will enable us to identify key granulation noise diagnostics across the optical spectrum that can be used to reduce the granulation-induced radial velocity noise from observations.