The Effect of Pericenter Glow from Jovian Exoplanets on Terrestrial Planet Imaging

In a planetary system with even one planet on an eccentric orbit, the zodiacal cloud will show pericenter glow caused by the secular pertubations from the planet. This pericenter glow could complicate the detection of exoearths by generating false positives. We examine the consequences of this perturbation for direct imaging of terrestrial exoplanets using ZODIPIC, an easy-to-use modeling suite for synthesizing images and resolved-spectra of optically-thin debris disks. We explore a range of two planet systems, tested for long-term stability, and determine how zodiacal light complicates terrestial planet imaging.