Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

The Leech Exoplanet Imaging Survey: Limits On Planet Occurrence Rates Under Conservative Assumptions, Jordan M. Stone, Andrew J. Skemer, Philip M. Hinz, Mariangela Bonavita, Kaitlin M. Kratter, Anne Lise Maire, Denis Defrere, Vanessa P. Bailey, Eckhart Spalding, Jarron M. Leisenring, S. Desidera, M. Bonnefoy, Beth Biller, Charles E. Woodward, Th Henning, Michael F. Skrutskie, J. A. Eisner, Justin R. Crepp, Jennifer Patience, Gerd Weigelt, Robert J. De Rosa, Joshua Schlieder, Wolfgang Brandner, Dániel Apai, Kate Su, Steve Ertel, Kimberly Ward-Duong, Katie M. Morzinski, Dieter Schertl, Karl Heinz Hofmann, Laird M. Close, Stefan S. Brems

Astronomy: Faculty Publications

We present the results of the largest L' (3.8 μm) direct imaging survey for exoplanets to date, the Large Binocular Telescope Interferometer Exozodi Exoplanet Common Hunt (LEECH). We observed 98 stars with spectral types from B to M. Cool planets emit a larger share of their flux in L' compared to shorter wavelengths, affording LEECH an advantage in detecting low-mass, old, and cold-start giant planets. We emphasize proximity over youth in our target selection, probing physical separations smaller than other direct imaging surveys. For FGK stars, LEECH outperforms many previous studies, placing tighter constraints on the hot-start planet occurrence frequency …