Princeton University Extrasolar Planet Discussion Group
Exoplanet Demographics with K2
Over the course of several years the Kepler mission continuously collected photometric data from a single patch of the sky, providing a homogenous set of transiting exoplanet detections. This catalog remains the gold standard for transiting exoplanet demographics studies. However, 18 additional fields of photometry, sampling a variety of Galactic latitudes, were collected following the malfunction that ended the Kepler prime mission. Better known as the K2 mission, these fields provide a unique opportunity to understand how exoplanet occurrence is affected by Galactic latitude, stellar metallicity, and stellar age. With a fully automated pipeline now able to detect and vet transit signals in K2 photometry, we can measure the sample completeness and reliability, forming the Scaling K2 planet catalog. Correspondingly, I will present the first uniform analysis of small transiting exoplanet occurrence outside of the Kepler field. With a wider dynamic range of stellar parameters now available with K2, I will discuss the observed planet hosting trends not previously identifiable with the Kepler sample alone.