110 research outputs found
The Discovery of a Companion to the Very Cool Dwarf Gl~569~B with the Keck Adaptive Optics Facility
We report observations obtained with the Keck adaptive optics facility of the
nearby (d=9.8 pc) binary Gl~569. The system was known to be composed of a cool
primary (dM2) and a very cool secondary (dM8.5) with a separation of 5" (49
Astronomical Units). We have found that Gl~569~B is itself double with a
separation of only 0".1010".002 (1 Astronomical Unit). This detection
demonstrates the superb spatial resolution that can be achieved with adaptive
optics at Keck. The difference in brightness between Gl~569~B and the companion
is 0.5 magnitudes in the J, H and K' bands. Thus, both objects have
similarly red colors and very likely constitute a very low-mass binary system.
For reasonable assumptions about the age (0.12~Gyr--1.0~Gyr) and total mass of
the system (0.09~M--0.15~M), we estimate that the orbital
period is 3 years. Follow-up observations will allow us to obtain an
astrometric orbit solution and will yield direct dynamical masses that can
constrain evolutionary models of very low-mass stars and brown dwarfs
Exploring the Structure of Distant Galaxies with Adaptive Optics on the Keck-II Telescope
We report on the first observation of cosmologically distant field galaxies
with an high order Adaptive Optics (AO) system on an 8-10 meter class
telescope. Two galaxies were observed at 1.6 microns at an angular resolution
as high as 50 milliarcsec using the AO system on the Keck-II telescope. Radial
profiles of both objects are consistent with those of local spiral galaxies and
are decomposed into a classic exponential disk and a central bulge. A
star-forming cluster or companion galaxy as well as a compact core are detected
in one of the galaxies at a redshift of 0.37+/-0.05. We discuss possible
explanations for the core including a small bulge, a nuclear starburst, or an
active nucleus. The same galaxy shows a peak disk surface brightness that is
brighter than local disks of comparable size. These observations demonstrate
the power of AO to reveal details of the morphology of distant faint galaxies
and to explore galaxy evolution.Comment: 5 pages, Latex, 3 figures. Accepted for publication in P.A.S.
Science with the Keck Interferometer ASTRA Program
The ASTrometric and phase-Referenced Astronomy (ASTRA) project will provide
phase referencing and astrometric observations at the Keck Interferometer,
leading to enhanced sensitivity and the ability to monitor orbits at an
accuracy level of 30-100 microarcseconds. Here we discuss recent scientific
results from ASTRA, and describe new scientific programs that will begin in
2010-2011. We begin with results from the "self phase referencing" (SPR) mode
of ASTRA, which uses continuum light to correct atmospheric phase variations
and produce a phase-stabilized channel for spectroscopy. We have observed a
number of protoplanetary disks using SPR and a grism providing a spectral
dispersion of ~2000. In our data we spatially resolve emission from dust as
well as gas. Hydrogen line emission is spectrally resolved, allowing
differential phase measurements across the emission line that constrain the
relative centroids of different velocity components at the 10 microarcsecond
level. In the upcoming year, we will begin dual-field phase referencing (DFPR)
measurements of the Galactic Center and a number of exoplanet systems. These
observations will, in part, serve as precursors to astrometric monitoring of
stellar orbits in the Galactic Center and stellar wobbles of exoplanet host
stars. We describe the design of several scientific investigations capitalizing
on the upcoming phase-referencing and astrometric capabilities of ASTRA.Comment: Published in the proceedings of the SPIE 2010 conference on "Optical
and Infrared Interferometry II
Discovery of a T Dwarf Binary with the Largest Known J-Band Flux Reversal
We present Keck laser guide star observations of two T2.5 dwarfs - 2MASS
J11061197+2754225 & 2MASS J14044941-3159329 - using NIRC2 on Keck-II and find
2MASS J14044941-3159329 to be a 0.13" binary. This system has a secondary that
is 0.45 mags brighter than the primary in J-band but 0.49 mags fainter in
H-band and 1.13 mags fainter in Ks-band. We use this relative photometry along
with near-infrared synthetic modeling performed on the integrated light
spectrum to derive component types of T1 for the primary and T5 for the
secondary. Optical spectroscopy of this system obtained with Magellan/LDSS-3 is
also presented. This is the fourth L/T transition binary to show a flux
reversal in the 1-1.2 micron regime and this one has the largest flux reversal.
Unless the secondary is itself an unresolved binary, the J-band magnitude
difference between the secondary and primary shows that the J-band "bump" is
indeed a real feature and not an artifact caused by unresolved binarity.Comment: 13 pages, 8 figures; accepted to ApJ - added two extra paragraphs
explaining our methodology in more detail, updated reference lis
Modeling the transmission and thermal emission in a pupil image behind the Keck II adaptive optics system
The design and performance of astronomical instruments depend critically on the total system throughput as well as the background emission from the sky and instrumental sources. In designing a pupil stop for background- limited imaging, one seeks to balance throughput and background rejection to optimize measurement signal-to-noise ratios. Many sources affect transmission and emission in infrared imaging behind the Keck Observatory’s adaptive optics systems, such as telescope segments, segment gaps, secondary support structure, and AO bench optics. Here we describe an experiment, using the pupil-viewing mode of NIRC2, to image the pupil plane as a function of wavelength. We are developing an empirical model of throughput and background emission as a function of position in the pupil plane. This model will be used in part to inform the optimal design of cold pupils in future instruments, such as the new imaging camera for OSIRIS
Satellites of the largest Kuiper Belt objects
We have searched the four brightest objects in the Kuiper Belt for the presence of satellites using the newly commissioned Keck Observatory Laser Guide Star Adaptive Optics system. Satellites are seen around three of the four objects: Pluto (whose satellite Charon is well-known and whose recently discovered smaller satellites are too faint to be detected), 2003 EL61 (where a second satellite is seen in addition to the previously known satellite), and 2003 UB313 (where a satellite is seen for the first time). The object 2005 FY9, the brightest Kuiper Belt object (KBO) after Pluto, does not have a satellite detectable within 0".4 with a brightness of more than 1% of the primary. The presence of satellites around three of the four brightest KBOs is inconsistent with the fraction of satellites in the Kuiper Belt at large at the 99.2% confidence level, suggesting a different formation mechanism for these largest KBO satellites. The two satellites of 2003 EL61, and the one satellite of 2003 UB313, with fractional brightnesses of 5% and 1.5%, and 2%, of their primaries, respectively, are significantly fainter relative to their primaries than other known KBO satellites, again pointing to possible differences in their origin
First L-band Interferometric Observations of a Young Stellar Object: Probing the Circumstellar Environment of MWC 419
We present spatially-resolved K- and L-band spectra (at spectral resolution R
= 230 and R = 60, respectively) of MWC 419, a Herbig Ae/Be star. The data were
obtained simultaneously with a new configuration of the 85-m baseline Keck
Interferometer. Our observations are sensitive to the radial distribution of
temperature in the inner region of the disk of MWC 419. We fit the visibility
data with both simple geometric and more physical disk models. The geometric
models (uniform disk and Gaussian) show that the apparent size increases
linearly with wavelength in the 2-4 microns wavelength region, suggesting that
the disk is extended with a temperature gradient. A model having a power-law
temperature gradient with radius simultaneously fits our interferometric
measurements and the spectral energy distribution data from the literature. The
slope of the power-law is close to that expected from an optically thick disk.
Our spectrally dispersed interferometric measurements include the Br gamma
emission line. The measured disk size at and around Br gamma suggests that
emitting hydrogen gas is located inside (or within the inner regions) of the
dust disk.Comment: Accepted for publication in Ap
Adaptive Optics for Astronomy
Adaptive Optics is a prime example of how progress in observational astronomy
can be driven by technological developments. At many observatories it is now
considered to be part of a standard instrumentation suite, enabling
ground-based telescopes to reach the diffraction limit and thus providing
spatial resolution superior to that achievable from space with current or
planned satellites. In this review we consider adaptive optics from the
astrophysical perspective. We show that adaptive optics has led to important
advances in our understanding of a multitude of astrophysical processes, and
describe how the requirements from science applications are now driving the
development of the next generation of novel adaptive optics techniques.Comment: to appear in ARA&A vol 50, 201
A fiber injection unit for the Keck Planet Imager and Characterizer (KPIC)
Coupling a high-contrast imaging instrument to a high-resolution spectrograph has the potential to enable the most detailed characterization of exoplanet atmospheres, including spin measurements and Doppler mapping. The high-contrast imaging system serves as a spatial filter to separate the light from the star and the planet while the high-resolution spectrograph acts as a spectral filter, which differentiates between features in the stellar and planetary spectra. The Keck Planet Imager and Characterizer (KPIC) located downstream from the current W. M. Keck II adaptive optics (AO) system will contain a fiber injection unit (FIU) combining a high-contrast imaging system and a fiber feed to Keck’s high resolution infrared spectrograph NIRSPEC. Resolved thermal emission from known young giant exoplanets will be injected into a single-mode fiber linked to NIRSPEC, thereby allowing the spectral characterization of their atmospheres. Moreover, the resolution of NIRSPEC (R = 37,500) is high enough to enable spin measurements and Doppler imaging of atmospheric weather phenomenon. The module will be integrated and tested at Caltech before being transferred to Keck in 2018
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