Snapshot coronagraphy with an interferometer in space

Diluted arrays of many optical apertures will be able to provide h igh-resolution snapshot images if the beams are combined according to the densified-pupil scheme. We show that the same principle can also provide coronagraphic images, for detecting faint sources near a bright unresolved one. Recent refinements of coronagraphic techniques, i.e. the use of a phase mask, active apodization and dark-speckle analysis, are also applicable for enhanced contrast. Implemented in the form of a proposed 50-500m Exo-Earth Discoverer array in space, the principle can serve to detect Earth-like exo-planets in the infra-red. It can also provide images of faint nebulosity near stars, active galactic nuclei and quasars. Calculations indicate that exo-planets are detectable amidst the zodiacal and exo-zodiacal emission faster than with a Bracewell array of equivalent area, a consequence of the spatial selectivity in the image.Comment: 23 pages, 10 figures, to appear in Icaru

The CoRoT Exoplanet program : status & results

The CoRoT satellite is the first instrument hunting for planets from space. We will review the status of the CoRoT/Exoplanet program. We will then present the CoRoT exoplanetary systems and how they widen the range of properties of the close-in population and contribute to our understanding of the properties of planets.Comment: 10 pages, Proceeding of Haute Provence Observatory Colloquium (23-27 August 2010

Time-scales of close-in exoplanet radio emission variability

We investigate the variability of exoplanetary radio emission using stellar magnetic maps and 3D field extrapolation techniques. We use a sample of hot Jupiter hosting stars, focusing on the HD 179949, HD 189733 and tau Boo systems. Our results indicate two time-scales over which radio emission variability may occur at magnetised hot Jupiters. The first is the synodic period of the star-planet system. The origin of variability on this time-scale is the relative motion between the planet and the interplanetary plasma that is co-rotating with the host star. The second time-scale is the length of the magnetic cycle. Variability on this time-scale is caused by evolution of the stellar field. At these systems, the magnitude of planetary radio emission is anticorrelated with the angular separation between the subplanetary point and the nearest magnetic pole. For the special case of tau Boo b, whose orbital period is tidally locked to the rotation period of its host star, variability only occurs on the time-scale of the magnetic cycle. The lack of radio variability on the synodic period at tau Boo b is not predicted by previous radio emission models, which do not account for the co-rotation of the interplanetary plasma at small distances from the star.Comment: 10 pages, 7 figures, 2 tables, accepted in MNRA

High-contrast imaging of Sirius~A with VLT/SPHERE: Looking for giant planets down to one astronomical unit

Sirius has always attracted a lot of scientific interest, especially after the discovery of a companion white dwarf at the end of the 19th century. Very early on, the existence of a potential third body was put forward to explain some of the observed properties of the system. We present new coronagraphic observations obtained with VLT/SPHERE that explore, for the very first time, the innermost regions of the system down to 0.2" (0.5 AU) from Sirius A. Our observations cover the near-infrared from 0.95 to 2.3 $\mu$m and they offer the best on-sky contrast ever reached at these angular separations. After detailing the steps of our SPHERE/IRDIFS data analysis, we present a robust method to derive detection limits for multi-spectral data from high-contrast imagers and spectrographs. In terms of raw performance, we report contrasts of 14.3 mag at 0.2", ~16.3 mag in the 0.4-1.0" range and down to 19 mag at 3.7". In physical units, our observations are sensitive to giant planets down to 11 $M_{Jup}$ at 0.5 AU, 6-7 $M_{Jup}$ in the 1-2 AU range and ~4 $M_{Jup}$ at 10 AU. Despite the exceptional sensitivity of our observations, we do not report the detection of additional companions around Sirius A. Using a Monte Carlo orbital analysis, we show that we can reject, with about 50% probability, the existence of an 8 $M_{Jup}$ planet orbiting at 1 AU. In addition to the results presented in the paper, we provide our SPHERE/IFS data reduction pipeline at http://people.lam.fr/vigan.arthur/ under the MIT license.Comment: 16 pages, 10 figures, accepted for publication in MNRA

On the environment surrounding close-in exoplanets

Exoplanets in extremely close-in orbits are immersed in a local interplanetary medium (i.e., the stellar wind) much denser than the local conditions encountered around the solar system planets. The environment surrounding these exoplanets also differs in terms of dynamics (slower stellar winds, but higher Keplerian velocities) and ambient magnetic fields (likely higher for host stars more active than the Sun). Here, we quantitatively investigate the nature of the interplanetary media surrounding the hot Jupiters HD46375b, HD73256b, HD102195b, HD130322b, HD179949b. We simulate the three-dimensional winds of their host stars, in which we directly incorporate their observed surface magnetic fields. With that, we derive mass-loss rates (1.9 to 8.0 $\times 10^{-13} M_{\odot}$/yr) and the wind properties at the position of the hot-Jupiters' orbits (temperature, velocity, magnetic field intensity and pressure). We show that these exoplanets' orbits are super-magnetosonic, indicating that bow shocks are formed surrounding these planets. Assuming planetary magnetic fields similar to Jupiter's, we estimate planetary magnetospheric sizes of 4.1 to 5.6 planetary radii. We also derive the exoplanetary radio emission released in the dissipation of the stellar wind energy. We find radio fluxes ranging from 0.02 to 0.13 mJy, which are challenging to be observed with present-day technology, but could be detectable with future higher sensitivity arrays (e.g., SKA). Radio emission from systems having closer hot-Jupiters, such as from tau Boo b or HD189733b, or from nearby planetary systems orbiting young stars, are likely to have higher radio fluxes, presenting better prospects for detecting exoplanetary radio emission.Comment: 15 pages, 5 figures, accepted to MNRA

Analysis of ground-based differential imager performance

In the context of extrasolar planet direct detection, we evaluated the performance of differential imaging with ground-based telescopes. This study was carried out in the framework of the VLT-Planet Finder project and is further extended to the case of Extremely Large Telescopes. Our analysis is providing critical specifications for future instruments mostly in terms of phase aberrations but also regarding alignments of the instrument optics or offset pointing on the coronagraph. It is found that Planet Finder projects on 8m class telescopes can be successful at detecting Extrasolar Giant Planets providing phase aberrations, alignments and pointing are accurately controlled. The situation is more pessimistic for the detection of terrestrial planets with Extremely Large Telescopes for which phase aberrations must be lowered at a very challenging level

Detection of the buckminsterfullerene cation (C60+) in space

In the early 90s, C60+ was proposed as the carrier of two diffuse interstellar bands (DIBs) at 957.7 and 963.2 nm, but a firm identification still awaits gas-phase spectroscopic data. Neutral C60, on the other hand, was recently detected through its infrared emission bands in the interstellar medium and evolved stars. In this contribution, we present the detection of C60+ through its infrared vibrational bands in the NGC 7023 nebula, based on spectroscopic observations with the Spitzer space telescope, quantum chemistry calculation, and laboratory data from the literature. This detection supports the idea that C60+ could be a DIB carrier, and provides robust evidence that fullerenes exist in the gas-phase in the interstellar medium. Modeling efforts to design specific observations, combined with new gas-phase data, will be essential to confirm this proposal. A definitive attribution of the 957.7 and 963.2 nm DIBs to C60+ would represent a significant step forward in the field.Comment: To appear in "Proceedings of IAU 297 symposium on the Diffuse Interstellar Bands", eds. J. Cami and N. Cox (5 pages