360 research outputs found
Direct imaging constraints on planet populations detected by microlensing
Results from gravitational microlensing suggested the existence of a large
population of free-floating planetary mass objects. The main conclusion from
this work was partly based on constraints from a direct imaging survey. This
survey determined upper limits for the frequency of stars that harbor giant
exoplanets at large orbital separations. Aims. We want to verify to what extent
upper limits from direct imaging do indeed constrain the microlensing results.
We examine the current derivation of the upper limits used in the microlensing
study and re-analyze the data from the corresponding imaging survey. We focus
on the mass and semi-major axis ranges that are most relevant in context of the
microlensing results. We also consider new results from a recent M-dwarf
imaging survey as these objects are typically the host stars for planets
detected by microlensing. We find that the upper limits currently applied in
context of the microlensing results are probably underestimated. This means
that a larger fraction of stars than assumed may harbor gas giant planets at
larger orbital separations. Also, the way the upper limit is currently used to
estimate the fraction of free-floating objects is not strictly correct. If the
planetary surface density of giant planets around M-dwarfs is described as
df_Planet ~ a^beta da, we find that beta ~ 0.5 - 0.6 is consistent with results
from different observational studies probing semi-major axes between ~0.03 - 30
AU. Having a higher upper limit on the fraction of stars that may have gas
giant planets at orbital separations probed by the microlensing data implies
that more of the planets detected in the microlensing study are potentially
bound to stars rather than free-floating. The current observational data are
consistent with a rising planetary surface density for giant exoplanets around
M-dwarfs out to ~30 AU.Comment: Accepted for publication in A&A as Research Note, 3 page
The Vector Vortex Coronagraph: Laboratory Results and First Light at Palomar Observatory
High-contrast coronagraphy will be needed to image and characterize faint
extra-solar planetary systems. Coronagraphy is a rapidly evolving field, and
many enhanced alternatives to the classical Lyot coronagraph have been proposed
in the past ten years. Here, we discuss the operation of the vector vortex
coronagraph, which is one of the most efficient possible coronagraphs. We first
present recent laboratory results, and then first light observations at the
Palomar observatory. Our near-infrared H-band (centered at ~ 1.65 microns) and
K-band (centered at ~ 2.2 microns) vector vortex devices demonstrated excellent
contrast results in the lab, down to ~ 1e-6 at an angular separation of 3 lb/d.
On sky, we detected a brown dwarf companion 3000 times fainter than its host
star (HR 7672) in the Ks band (centered at ~2.15 microns), at an angular
separation of ~ 2.5 lb/d. Current and next-generation high-contrast instruments
can directly benefit from the demonstrated capabilities of such a vector
vortex: simplicity, small inner working angle, high optical throughput (>90%),
and maximal off-axis discovery space
Discovery of the brightest T dwarf in the northern hemisphere
We report the discovery of a bright (H=12.77) brown dwarf designated SIMP
J013656.5+093347. The discovery was made as part of a near-infrared proper
motion survey, SIMP (Sondage Infrarouge de Mouvement Propre), which uses proper
motion and near-infrared/optical photometry to identify brown dwarf candidates.
A low resolution (lambda/dlambda~40) spectrum of this brown dwarf covering the
0.88-2.35 microns wavelength interval is presented. Analysis of the spectrum
indicates a spectral type of T2.5+/-0.5. A photometric distance of 6.4+/-0.3 pc
is estimated assuming it is a single object. Current observations rule out a
binary of mass ratio ~1 and separation >5 AU. SIMP 0136 is the brightest T
dwarf in the northern hemisphere and is surpassed only by Eps Indi Bab over the
whole sky. It is thus an excellent candidate for detailed studies and should
become a benchmark object for the early-T spectral class.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures, To be published in November 1, 2006 issue of
ApJL. Following IAU recommendation, the survey acronym (IBIS) was changed to
SIM
Discovery of a Wide Substellar Companion to a Nearby Low-Mass Star
We report the discovery of a wide (135+/-25 AU), unusually blue L5 companion
2MASS J17114559+4028578 to the nearby M4.5 dwarf G 203-50 as a result of a
targeted search for common proper motion pairs in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey
and the Two Micron All Sky Survey. Adaptive Optics imaging with Subaru
indicates that neither component is a nearly equal mass binary with separation
> 0.18", and places limits on the existence of additional faint companions. An
examination of TiO and CaH features in the primary's spectrum is consistent
with solar metallicity and provides no evidence that G 203-50 is metal poor. We
estimate an age for the primary of 1-5 Gyr based on activity. Assuming
coevality of the companion, its age, gravity and metallicity can be constrained
from properties of the primary, making it a suitable benchmark object for the
calibration of evolutionary models and for determining the atmospheric
properties of peculiar blue L dwarfs. The low total mass (M_tot=0.21+/-0.03
M_sun), intermediate mass ratio (q=0.45+/-0.14), and wide separation of this
system demonstrate that the star formation process is capable of forming wide,
weakly bound binary systems with low mass and BD components. Based on the
sensitivity of our search we find that no more than 2.2% of early-to-mid M
dwarfs (9.0 0.06 M_sun.Comment: 24 pages, 5 figures, accepted for publication in Ap
Spitzer 3.6 micron and 4.5 micron full-orbit lightcurves of WASP-18
We present new lightcurves of the massive hot Jupiter system WASP-18 obtained
with the Spitzer spacecraft covering the entire orbit at 3.6 micron and 4.5
micron. These lightcurves are used to measure the amplitude, shape and phase of
the thermal phase effect for WASP-18b. We find that our results for the thermal
phase effect are limited to an accuracy of about 0.01% by systematic noise
sources of unknown origin. At this level of accuracy we find that the thermal
phase effect has a peak-to-peak amplitude approximately equal to the secondary
eclipse depth, has a sinusoidal shape and that the maximum brightness occurs at
the same phase as mid-occultation to within about 5 degrees at 3.6 micron and
to within about 10 degrees at 4.5 micron. The shape and amplitude of the
thermal phase curve imply very low levels of heat redistribution within the
atmosphere of the planet. We also perform a separate analysis to determine the
system geometry by fitting a lightcurve model to the data covering the
occultation and the transit. The secondary eclipse depths we measure at 3.6
micron and 4.5 micron are in good agreement with previous measurements and
imply a very low albedo for WASP-18b. The parameters of the system (masses,
radii, etc.) derived from our analysis are in also good agreement with those
from previous studies, but with improved precision. We use new high-resolution
imaging and published limits on the rate of change of the mean radial velocity
to check for the presence of any faint companion stars that may affect our
results. We find that there is unlikely to be any significant contribution to
the flux at Spitzer wavelengths from a stellar companion to WASP-18. We find
that there is no evidence for variations in the times of eclipse from a linear
ephemeris greater than about 100 seconds over 3 years.Comment: 17 pages, 10 figures. Accpeted for publication in MNRA
LBT observations of the HR 8799 planetary system: First detection of HR8799e in H band
We have performed H and Ks band observations of the planetary system around
HR 8799 using the new AO system at the Large Binocular Telescope and the PISCES
Camera. The excellent instrument performance (Strehl ratios up to 80% in H
band) enabled detection the inner planet HR8799e in the H band for the first
time. The H and Ks magnitudes of HR8799e are similar to those of planets c and
d, with planet e slightly brighter. Therefore, HR8799e is likely slightly more
massive than c and d. We also explored possible orbital configurations and
their orbital stability. We confirm that the orbits of planets b, c and e are
consistent with being circular and coplanar; planet d should have either an
orbital eccentricity of about 0.1 or be non-coplanar with respect to b and c.
Planet e can not be in circular and coplanar orbit in a 4:2:1 mean motion
resonances with c and d, while coplanar and circular orbits are allowed for a
5:2 resonance. The analysis of dynamical stability shows that the system is
highly unstable or chaotic when planetary masses of about 5 MJup for b and 7
MJup for the other planets are adopted. Significant regions of dynamical
stability for timescales of tens of Myr are found when adopting planetary
masses of about 3.5, 5, 5, and 5 Mjup for HR 8799 b, c, d, and e respectively.
These masses are below the current estimates based on the stellar age (30 Myr)
and theoretical models of substellar objects.Comment: 13 pages, 10 figures, A&A, accepte
Orbital characterization of the \beta Pictoris b giant planet
In June 2010, we confirmed the existence of a giant planet in the disk of the
young star Beta Pictoris, located between 8 AU and 15 AU from the star. This
young planet offers the rare opportunity to monitor a large fraction of the
orbit using the imaging technique over a reasonably short timescale. Using the
NAOS-CONICA adaptive-optics instrument (NACO) at the Very Large Telescope
(VLT), we obtained repeated follow-up images of the Bpic system in the Ks and
L' filters at four new epochs in 2010 and 2011. Complementing these data with
previous measurements, we conduct a homogeneous analysis, which covers more
than eight yrs, to accurately monitor the Bpic b position relative to the star.
On the basis of the evolution of the planet's relative position with time, we
derive the best-fit orbital solutions for our measurements. More reliable
results are found with a Markov-chain Monte Carlo approach. The solutions favor
a low-eccentricity orbit e < 0.17, with semi-major axis in the range 8--9 AU
corresponding to orbital periods of 17--21 yrs. Our solutions favor a highly
inclined solution with a peak around i=88.5+-1.7 deg, and a longitude of
ascending node tightly constrained at Omega = -147.5+-1.5 deg. These results
indicate that the orbital plane of the planet is likely to be above the
midplane of the main disk, and compatible with the warp component of the disk
being tilted between 3.5 deg and 4.0 deg. This suggests that the planet plays a
key role in the origin of the inner warped-disk morphology of the Bpic disk.
Finally, these orbital parameters are consistent with the hypothesis that the
planet is responsible for the transit-like event observed in November 1981, and
also linked to the cometary activity observed in the Bpic system.Comment: 10 pages, 12 figures, accepted to A&
TRIDENT: an Infrared Differential Imaging Camera Optimized for the Detection of Methanated Substellar Companions
A near-infrared camera in use at the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope (CFHT)
and at the 1.6-m telescope of the Observatoire du Mont-Megantic is described.
The camera is based on a Hawaii-1 1024x1024 HgCdTe array detector. Its main
feature is to acquire three simultaneous images at three wavelengths across the
methane absorption bandhead at 1.6 microns, enabling, in theory, an accurate
subtraction of the stellar point spread function (PSF) and the detection of
faint close methanated companions. The instrument has no coronagraph and
features fast data acquisition, yielding high observing efficiency on bright
stars. The performance of the instrument is described, and it is illustrated by
laboratory tests and CFHT observations of the nearby stars GL526, Ups And and
Chi And. TRIDENT can detect (6 sigma) a methanated companion with delta H = 9.5
at 0.5" separation from the star in one hour of observing time. Non-common path
aberrations and amplitude modulation differences between the three optical
paths are likely to be the limiting factors preventing further PSF attenuation.
Instrument rotation and reference star subtraction improve the detection limit
by a factor of 2 and 4 respectively. A PSF noise attenuation model is presented
to estimate the non-common path wavefront difference effect on PSF subtraction
performance.Comment: 41 pages, 16 figures, accepted for publication in PAS
Constraining the orbit of the possible companion to Beta Pictoris: New deep imaging observations
We recently reported on the detection of a possible planetary-mass companion
to Beta Pictoris at a projected separation of 8 AU from the star, using data
taken in November 2003 with NaCo, the adaptive-optics system installed on the
Very Large Telescope UT4. Eventhough no second epoch detection was available,
there are strong arguments to favor a gravitationally bound companion rather
than a background object. If confirmed and located at a physical separation of
8 AU, this young, hot (~1500 K), massive Jovian companion (~8 Mjup) would be
the closest planet to its star ever imaged, could be formed via core-accretion,
and could explain the main morphological and dynamical properties of the dust
disk. Our goal was to return to Beta Pic five years later to obtain a
second-epoch observation of the companion or, in case of a non-detection,
constrain its orbit. Deep adaptive-optics L'-band direct images of Beta Pic and
Ks-band Four-Quadrant-Phase-Mask (4QPM) coronagraphic images were recorded with
NaCo in January and February 2009. We also use 4QPM data taken in November
2004. No point-like signal with the brightness of the companion candidate
(apparent magnitudes L'=11.2 or Ks ~ 12.5) is detected at projected distances
down to 6.5 AU from the star in the 2009 data. As expected, the non-detection
does not allow to rule out a background object; however, we show that it is
consistent with the orbital motion of a bound companion that got closer to the
star since first observed in 2003 and that is just emerging from behind the
star at the present epoch. We place strong constraints on the possible orbits
of the companion and discuss future observing prospects.Comment: 8 pages, 8 figures, 1 table, accepted for publication in Astronomy
and Astrophysic
The International Deep Planet Survey I. The frequency of wide-orbit massive planets around A-stars
Breakthrough direct detections of planetary companions orbiting A-type stars
confirm the existence of massive planets at relatively large separations, but
dedicated surveys are required to estimate the frequency of similar planetary
systems. To measure the first estimation of the giant exoplanetary systems
frequency at large orbital separation around A-stars, we have conducted a
deep-imaging survey of young (8-400 Myr), nearby (19-84 pc) A- and F-stars to
search for substellar companions in the 10-300 AU range. The sample of 42 stars
combines all A-stars observed in previous AO planet search surveys reported in
the literature with new AO observations from VLT/NaCo and Gemini/NIRI. It
represents an initial subset of the International Deep Planet Survey (IDPS)
sample of stars covering M- to B-stars. The data were obtained with
diffraction-limited observations in H- and Ks-band combined with angular
differential imaging to suppress the speckle noise of the central stars,
resulting in typical 5-sigma detection limits in magnitude difference of 12 mag
at 1", 14 mag at 2" and 16 mag at 5" which is sufficient to detect massive
planets. A detailed statistical analysis of the survey results is performed
using Monte Carlo simulations. Considering the planet detections, we estimate
the fraction of A-stars having at least one massive planet (3-14 MJup) in the
range 5-320 AU to be inside 5.9-18.8% at 68% confidence, assuming a flat
distribution for the mass of the planets. By comparison, the brown dwarf (15-75
MJup) frequency for the sample is 2.0-8.9% at 68% confidence in the range 5-320
AU. Assuming power law distributions for the mass and semimajor axis of the
planet population, the AO data are consistent with a declining number of
massive planets with increasing orbital radius which is distinct from the
rising slope inferred from radial velocity (RV) surveys around evolved A-stars.Comment: 20 pages, 10 figures, 7 tables. Accepted for publication in A&
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