Euclid Asteroseismology and Kuiper Belt Objects

TL;DR

Euclid's microlensing campaign could significantly advance asteroseismology and Kuiper Belt Object studies by detecting thousands of KBOs and providing precise orbital data, despite being a dark-energy mission.

Contribution

This paper demonstrates the potential of Euclid's microlensing component to contribute valuable auxiliary science in asteroseismology and KBO detection, which was not its primary goal.

Findings

Detection of ~100,000 giant stars for asteroseismology.

Identification of ~1,000 KBOs down to faint magnitudes.

Accurate orbit measurements for KBOs below the luminosity break.

Abstract

Euclid, which is primarily a dark-energy/cosmology mission, may have a microlensing component, consisting of perhaps four dedicated one-month campaigns aimed at the Galactic bulge. We show that such a program would yield excellent auxilliary science, including asteroseimology detections for about 100,000 giant stars, and detection of about 1000 Kuiper Belt Objects (KBOs), down to 2--2.5 mag below the observed break in the KBO luminosity function at I ~26. For the 400 KBOs below the break, Euclid will measure accurate orbits, with fractional period errors <~ 2.5%.