The Vast Potential of Exoplanet Satellites for High-Energy Astrophysics

Abstract

The photometric precision, monitoring baselines, and rapid, even sampling rates required by modern satellites designed for detecting the signal of transiting exoplanets are ideally suited to a large number of applications in high-energy astrophysics. I will exemplify this by discussing the results for active galactic nuclei from Kepler and summarizing other high-energy results from Kepler/K2. These precision instruments are currently underutilized for high-energy applications despite their great potential, due in part to complex systematics affecting the data. I will summarize these effects and mitigation approaches, and conclude by discussing how the recently launched Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite mission will differ from Kepler/K2 in ways significant to the high-energy community.

Accepted for publication in Astronomische Nachrichten. Conference Proceedings from "Time-Domain Astronomy: A High Energy View", June 13-15 2018, ESAC, Madrid, Spain

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