Target selection for the SUNS and DEBRIS surveys for debris discs in the solar neighbourhood

Abstract

Debris discs - analogous to the Asteroid and Kuiper-Edgeworth belts in the\nSolar system - have so far mostly been identified and studied in thermal\nemission shortward of 100 um. The Herschel space observatory and the SCUBA-2\ncamera on the James Clerk Maxwell Telescope will allow efficient photometric\nsurveying at 70 to 850 um, which allow for the detection of cooler discs not\nyet discovered, and the measurement of disc masses and temperatures when\ncombined with shorter wavelength photometry. The SCUBA-2 Unbiased Nearby Stars\n(SUNS) survey and the DEBRIS Herschel Open Time Key Project are complimentary\nlegacy surveys observing samples of ~500 nearby stellar systems. To maximise\nthe legacy value of these surveys, great care has gone into the target\nselection process. This paper describes the target selection process and\npresents the target lists of these two surveys.\n