Convective motion and Stellar jitter

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SUMMARY

Stellar jitter is significantly influenced by convective motions within the stellar photosphere, as detailed on page 26 of the document from Queen Mary University of London. These convective currents create vertical movements that affect the radial velocity detection methods, which utilize Doppler shifts to measure the motion of stars caused by orbiting planets. The variability in these currents can introduce noise and uncertainty in Doppler shift measurements, leading to inaccurate assessments of stellar motion.

PREREQUISITES
  • Understanding of stellar photosphere dynamics
  • Familiarity with Doppler shift principles
  • Knowledge of radial velocity detection methods
  • Basic concepts of convective motion in astrophysics
NEXT STEPS
  • Research the impact of convective currents on stellar observations
  • Study advanced Doppler shift techniques in astrophysics
  • Explore methods to mitigate noise in radial velocity measurements
  • Investigate the relationship between stellar jitter and exoplanet detection
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Astronomers, astrophysicists, and researchers focused on exoplanet detection and stellar dynamics will benefit from this discussion.

Jamipat
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Page 26 of http://www.maths.qmul.ac.uk/~rpn/ASTM735/Week7.pdf claims that stellar jitter can be caused by the convective motions in the stellar photosphere.

Can someone explain that to me as I don't understand it?
 
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Convective motion can cause the photosphere to have currents that move up and down. Since the radial velocity detection methods relies on doppler shift to detect motions in the parent star due to orbiting planets, these currents can introduce noise and uncertainty in the measure of the amount of doppler shift, as the light from that area of the photosphere can be blue or red shifted differently than the rest of the star.
 

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