Catherine Clark (Caltech/IPAC): "The Role of Stellar Multiplicity in M-Dwarf Systems"

M dwarfs are ubiquitous in our galaxy, and they are currently the most favorable targets for detecting and characterizing Earth-sized planets in the habitable zone. However, stellar multiplicity impacts planet studies from the very beginning; companion stars can perturb and truncate protoplanetary disks, gravitationally excite planetesimals, and scatter planets that have formed. Stellar companions also inhibit our ability to detect and characterize any planets in the system once formed. It is therefore crucial to survey the multiplicity of potential planet hosts, to investigate their system architectures, and to properly characterize all stars in the system. In this talk I will discuss multiplicity surveys of both planet-hosting and non-planet-hosting M dwarfs, as well as our ongoing efforts to characterize both the stars and planets of multi-star systems.