23 research outputs found

    Gemini planet imager observational calibrations V: Astrometry and distortion

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    This is the final version of the article. Available from SPIE via the DOI in this record.From Conference Volume 9147: Ground-based and Airborne Instrumentation for Astronomy V, Suzanne K. Ramsay; Ian S. McLean; Hideki Takami, Montréal, Quebec, Canada, June 22, 2014We present the results of both laboratory and on sky astrometric characterization of the Gemini Planet Imager (GPI). This characterization includes measurement of the pixel scale∗ of the integral field spectrograph (IFS), the position of the detector with respect to north, and optical distortion. Two of these three quantities (pixel scale and distortion) were measured in the laboratory using two transparent grids of spots, one with a square pattern and the other with a random pattern. The pixel scale in the laboratory was also estimate using small movements of the artificial star unit (ASU) in the GPI adaptive optics system. On sky, the pixel scale and the north angle are determined using a number of known binary or multiple systems and Solar System objects, a subsample of which had concurrent measurements at Keck Observatory. Our current estimate of the GPI pixel scale is 14.14 ± 0.01 millarcseconds/pixel, and the north angle is -1.00 ± 0.03°. Distortion is shown to be small, with an average positional residual of 0.26 pixels over the field of view, and is corrected using a 5th order polynomial. We also present results from Monte Carlo simulations of the GPI Exoplanet Survey (GPIES) assuming GPI achieves ∼1 milliarcsecond relative astrometric precision. We find that with this precision, we will be able to constrain the eccentricities of all detected planets, and possibly determine the underlying eccentricity distribution of widely separated Jovians.The Gemini Observatory is operated by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy, Inc., under a cooperative agreement with the NSF on behalf of the Gemini partnership: the National Science Foundation (United States), the National Research Council (Canada), CONICYT (Chile), the Australian Research Council (Australia), Ministério da Ciência, Tecnologia e Inovação (Brazil), and Ministerio de Ciencia, Tecnología e Innovación Productiva (Argentina). This publication makes use of data obtained at the W.M. Keck Observatory, which is operated as a scientific partnership among the California Institute of Technology, the University of California and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. The Observatory was made possible by the generous financial support of the W.M. Keck Foundation. P.K. and J.R.G. thank support from NASA NNX11AD21G, NSF AST-0909188, and the University of California LFRP-118057. Q.M.K is a Dunlap Fellow at the Dunlap Institute for Astronomy & Astrophysics, University of Toronto. The Dunlap Institute is funded through an endowment established by the David Dunlap family and the University of Toronto

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    An M-dwarf star in the transition disk of Herbig HD 142527. Physical parameters and orbital elements

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    Aims. HD 42527A is one of the most studied Herbig Ae/Be stars with a transitional disk, as it has the largest imaged gap in any protoplanetary disk: the gas is cleared from 30 to 90 AU. The HD 142527 system is also unique in that it has a stellar companion with a small mass compared to the mass of the primary star. This factor of ≈20 in mass ratio between the two objects makes this binary system different from any other YSO. The HD 142527 system could therefore provide a valuable test bed for understanding the impact of a lower mass companion on disk structure. This low-mass stellar object may be responsible for both the gap and dust trapping observed by ALMA at longer distances. Methods. We observed this system with the NACO and GPI instruments using the aperture masking technique. Aperture masking is ideal for providing high dynamic range even at very small angular separations. We present the spectral energy distribution (SED) for HD 142527A and B. Brightness of the companion is now known from the R band up to the M′ band. We also followed the orbital motion of HD 142527B over a period of more than two years. Results. The SED of the companion is compatible with a T = 3000 ± 100 K object in addition to a 1700 K blackbody environment (likely a circum-secondary disk). From evolution models, we find that it is compatible with an object of mass 0.13 ± 0.03 M⊙, radius 0.90 ± 0.15 R⊙, and age 1.0+1.0-0.75 Myr. This age is significantly younger than the age previously estimated for HD 142527A. Computations to constrain the orbital parameters found a semimajor axis of 140+120-70 mas, an eccentricity of 0.5 ± 0.2, an inclination of 125 ± 15 degrees, and a position angle of the right ascending node of −5 ± 40 degrees. Inclination and position angle of the ascending node are in agreement with an orbit coplanar with the inner disk, not coplanar with the outer disk. Despite its high eccentricity, it is unlikely that HD 142527B is responsible for truncating the inner edge of the outer disk
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