Origins of Solar Systems: Removing Activity-Related Radial Velocity Noise to Improve Extrasolar Planet Searches

We have continued the super high resolution (R is approximately 200,000), high S/N (> 300) echelle study of joint line bisector and radial velocity variations using the McDonald 2-D coude. A long observing run in October 2002 was quite successful (8 clear nights). We now have close to three years of data, which begins to sample a good fraction of the magnetic cycle timescales for some of our targets (e.g., K Ceti; P(sub cyc)=5.6 yrs). This will be very helpful in unraveling the complex relationships between plage and v(sub r), changes which we have uncovered. A preliminary analysis of the limited data in hand, and find some tantalizing evidence for correlations between median line bisector displacement and radial velocity v(sub r). The correlation appears to be specific to the particular star being considered, probably since it is a function of both spectral type and rotation rate. Additional information regarding progress on the grant is included.