No Planet Left Behind: Investigating Planetary Diversity and Architecture with SIM Lite

Abstract

The evidence is mounting that star formation necessarily involves planet formation. We clearly have a vested interest in finding other Earths but a true understanding of planet formation requires completing the census and mapping planetary architecture in all its grandeur and diversity. Here, we show that a 2000-star survey undertaken with SIM Lite will uniquely probe planets around B-A-F stars, bright and binary stars and white dwarfs. In addition, we show that the high precision of SIM Lite allows us to gain unique insights into planet formation via accurate measurements of mutual inclinations.

7 pages, 3 figures, submitted to The Astronomy and Astrophysics Decadal Survey