Multiwavelength Mitigation of Stellar Activity in Astrometric Planet Detection

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates that multiwavelength astrometry can significantly reduce stellar activity noise, enabling detection of smaller exoplanets around Sun-like stars than previously possible with single-band observations.

Contribution

It introduces a multiwavelength mitigation technique that leverages correlated astrometric jitter across passbands to improve exoplanet detection sensitivity.

Findings

Multiwavelength approach reduces stellar activity noise by up to a factor of 10.

Pairs of passbands with correlated jitter improve planet detection limits.

Detection of planets as small as 0.005 Earth masses at 1 au is achievable with ideal conditions.

Abstract

Astrometry has long been a promising technique for exoplanet detection. At the theoretical limits, astrometry would allow for the detection of smaller planets than previously seen by current exoplanet search methods, but stellar activity may make these theoretical limits unreachable. Astrometric jitter of a Sun-like star due to magnetic activity in its photosphere induces apparent variability in the photocenter of order $0.5\ \textrm{m}R_\odot$. This jitter creates a fundamental astrophysical noise floor preventing detection of lower-mass planets in a single spectral band. By injecting planet orbits into simulated solar data at five different passbands, we investigate mitigation of this fundamental astrometric noise using correlations across passbands. For a true solar analog and a planet at 1 au semimajor axis, the $6\sigma$ detection limit set by stellar activity for an ideal telescope at the best single passband is $0.01$ Earth masses. We found that pairs of passbands with highly correlated astrometric jitter due to stellar activity, but with less motion in the redder band, enable higher-precision measurements of the common signal from the planet. Using this method improves detectable planet masses at 1 au by up to a factor of $10$, corresponding to at best $0.005$ Earth masses for a Sun-like star with a perfect telescope. Given these results, we recommend that future astrometry missions consider proceeding with two or more passbands to reduce noise due to stellar activity.