Scottish Universities Physics Alliance SUPA Astronomy & Space Physics Graham Woan University of Glasgow

Scottish Universities Physics Alliance 2 Astronomy and Space Physics in Scotland Exoplanets Galaxy dynamics Cosmology Solar physics Scottish Universities Physics Alliance Gravitational waves Large telescopes SUPA institutions carry out world-leading astronomical research over a broad range of topics: – cosmology, galaxy structure & evolution, stellar astrophysics, planet formation & extrasolar planets, solar physics, gravitational waves, telescopes and instrumentation … – cross-theme initiatives: SPARK (with Particle Physics), UK Centre for Astrobiology (with PaLS) – grant income of ~£6-7M/y – 133 staff 86 PhD students – ~550 publications over report period. – Today, give a snapshot of our two extrasolar planet projects: SUPAscope and HARPS-North

Scottish Universities Physics Alliance current & competitive position – SUPA-led international team at the forefront of robotic telescope networks, studying microlensing and time-variability – 15 scopes to be deployed at 6 sites – Key Project 1 – cool-planet mass/orbit distributions down to Earth-size – Key Project 2 – echo-mapping of AGN accretion disks – Nature papers in 2005 for discovery of first rocky planet and 2012 for first cool-planet abundance distribution 3 SUPAscope – Global Robotic Telescope Network for Time-Domain Astrophysics

Scottish Universities Physics Alliance strategy, aspiration & progress – cool planet census complete enough to detect or rule out predicted cool-planet desert – detection of cool Earth-mass planets – AGN luminosity distances (at redshifts 0.1, 0.5, 1, 2, 3) constraining    , and w – first robotic 1-m LCOGT scope currently being commissioned at McDonald Observatory – six southern hemispheres telescopes to be deployed in 2012 – three northern hemisphere telescopes to be deployed in 2013 – ready for 2013 observing season 4 SUPAscope – Global Robotic Telescope Network for Time-Domain Astrophysics

Scottish Universities Physics Alliance current & competitive position – HARPS-North: the characterization and discovery of terrestrial planets by combining transit and Doppler measurements – international collaboration: Geneva (lead), SUPA, Harvard, QUB, TNG-INAF Observatory – SUPA (StA, Ed, UK-ATC) are major funding and construction partners – HARPS-North will be capable of better than 20 cm/s precision for bright stars – world-leading precision – first light achieved in March 2012 – Kepler intension to use HARPS-North for follow-ups 5 Kepler + HARPS-North Planet Masses and Densities +

Scottish Universities Physics Alliance Strategy, aspiration & progress – confirming an Earth-twin planet in the habitable zone, with a precision of 30% in mass – characterizing Earth-like planets of 2-5 Earth masses ("super-Earths") in various orbits, distinguishing between water-rich and dry planets – characterizing the transition between super- Earths and Ice Giants (e.g., hot Neptunes) near 10 Earth masses, to 5% in mass 6 Kepler + HARPS-North Planet Masses and Densities – observing time requirements: for 2 planets (over 3 years) h = 16 nights per year for 20 planets in various orbits h = 25 nights per year for 20 planets in various orbits h = 20 nights per year HARPS-N first light, 24 March 2012