The GAIA Astrometric Survey of the Solar Neighborhood and its Contribution to the Target Database for DARWIN/TPF

TL;DR

The paper assesses how ESA's GAIA mission can enhance the selection of nearby stars for future space-based planet detection missions by providing precise astrometric data to identify and characterize potential exoplanet hosts.

Contribution

It demonstrates the potential of GAIA astrometry to improve target selection for DARWIN/TPF by identifying exoplanet signatures and characterizing nearby stars more effectively.

Findings

GAIA will enable complete screening of stars within 25 pc.

It will help identify and characterize Jupiter-like exoplanets.

GAIA data will complement ground-based exoplanet surveys.

Abstract

We evaluate the potential of the ESA Cornerstone Mission GAIA in helping populate the database of nearby stars ($d < 25$ pc) for subsequent target selection for DARWIN/TPF. The GAIA high-precision astrometric measurements will make it an ideal tool for a complete screening of the expected several thousands stars within 25 pc in order to identify and characterize (or rule out the presence of) Jupiter signposts. GAIA astrometry will be instrumental in complementing radial velocity surveys of F-G-K stars, and will more effectively search for massive planets the large database of nearby M dwarfs, which are less easily accessible with precision spectroscopy. The ability to determine the actual planet masses and inclination angles for detected systems, especially those with low-mass primaries (M $< 0.6$ M$_\odot$), stems as a fundamental contribution GAIA will make toward the final target selection for DARWIN/TPF, thus complementing exo-zodiacal dust emission observations from ground-based observatories such as Keck, LBTI, and VLTI.