Unraveling the mystery of exozodiacal dust

Exozodiacal dust clouds are thought to be the extrasolar analogs of the Solar System's zodiacal dust. Studying these systems provides insights in the architecture of the innermost regions of planetary systems, including the habitable zone. Furthermore, the mere presence of the dust may result in major obstacles for direct imaging of earth-like planets. Our EXOZODI project aims to detect and study exozodiacal dust and to explain its origin. We are carrying out the first large, near-infrared interferometric survey in the northern (CHARA/FLUOR) and southern (VLTI/PIONIER) hemisphere. Preliminary results suggest a detection rate of up to 30% around A to K type stars and interesting trends with spectral type and age. In addition to the statistical analysis of our survey results, detailed modeling studies of single systems, modeling of possible dust creation mechanisms and the development of next-generation modeling tools dedicated to address the mystery of exozodiacal dust are main tasks of our project.