638 research outputs found
What is in a pebble shape?
We propose to characterize the shapes of flat pebbles in terms of the
statistical distribution of curvatures measured along the pebble contour. This
is demonstrated for the erosion of clay pebbles in a controlled laboratory
apparatus. Photographs at various stages of erosion are analyzed, and compared
with two models. We find that the curvature distribution complements the usual
measurement of aspect ratio, and connects naturally to erosion processes that
are typically faster at protruding regions of high curvature.Comment: Phys. Rev. Lett. (to appear
The gravitational mass of Proxima Centauri measured with SPHERE from a microlensing event
Proxima Centauri, our closest stellar neighbour, is a low-mass M5 dwarf
orbiting in a triple system. An Earth-mass planet with an 11 day period has
been discovered around this star. The star's mass has been estimated only
indirectly using a mass-luminosity relation, meaning that large uncertainties
affect our knowledge of its properties. To refine the mass estimate, an
independent method has been proposed: gravitational microlensing. By taking
advantage of the close passage of Proxima Cen in front of two background stars,
it is possible to measure the astrometric shift caused by the microlensing
effect due to these close encounters and estimate the gravitational mass of the
lens (Proxima Cen). Microlensing events occurred in 2014 and 2016 with impact
parameters, the closest approach of Proxima Cen to the background star, of
1\farcs6 0\farcs1 and 0\farcs5 0\farcs1, respectively. Accurate
measurements of the positions of the background stars during the last two years
have been obtained with HST/WFC3, and with VLT/SPHERE from the ground. The
SPHERE campaign started on March 2015, and continued for more than two years,
covering 9 epochs. The parameters of Proxima Centauri's motion on the sky,
along with the pixel scale, true North, and centering of the instrument
detector were readjusted for each epoch using the background stars visible in
the IRDIS field of view. The experiment has been successful and the astrometric
shift caused by the microlensing effect has been measured for the second event
in 2016. We used this measurement to derive a mass of
0.150 (an error of 40\%) \MSun for Proxima
Centauri acting as a lens. This is the first and the only currently possible
measurement of the gravitational mass of Proxima Centauri.Comment: 10 pages, 6 figures, accepted by MNRA
Discovery of the Coldest Imaged Companion of a Sun-Like Star
We present the discovery of a brown dwarf or possible planet at a projected
separation of 1.9" = 29 AU around the star GJ 758, placing it between the
separations at which substellar companions are expected to form by core
accretion (~5 AU) or direct gravitational collapse (typically >100 AU). The
object was detected by direct imaging of its thermal glow with Subaru/HiCIAO.
At 10-40 times the mass of Jupiter and a temperature of 550-640 K, GJ 758 B
constitutes one of the few known T-type companions, and the coldest ever to be
imaged in thermal light around a Sun-like star. Its orbit is likely eccentric
and of a size comparable to Pluto's orbit, possibly as a result of
gravitational scattering or outward migration. A candidate second companion is
detected at 1.2" at one epoch.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figures, 2 tables. Accepted for publication in ApJ Letter
Near-Infrared Multi-Band Photometry of the Substellar Companion GJ 758 B
GJ 758 B is a cold (~600K) companion to a Sun-like star at 29 AU projected
separation, which was recently detected with high-contrast imaging. Here we
present photometry of the companion in seven photometric bands from
Subaru/HiCIAO, Gemini/NIRI and Keck/NIRC2, providing a rich sampling of the
spectral energy distribution in the 1-5 micron wavelength range. A clear
detection at 1.58 micron combined with an upper limit at 1.69 micron shows
methane absorption in the atmosphere of the companion. The mass of the
companion remains uncertain, but an updated age estimate indicates that the
most likely mass range is ~30-40 Mjup. In addition, we present an updated
astrometric analysis that imposes tighter constraints on GJ 758 B's orbit and
identifies the proposed second candidate companion, "GJ 758 C", as a background
star.Comment: 10 pages, 4 figures, accepted for publication in ApJ Letters. New
version: Corrected a few numbers in the astrometry section (which were
already correct in the print version, but were based on an outdated
simulation in the astro-ph version
SEEDS direct imaging of the RV-detected companion to V450 Andromedae, and characterization of the system
We report the direct imaging detection of a low-mass companion to a young,
moderately active star V450 And, that was previously identified with the radial
velocity method. The companion was found in high-contrast images obtained with
the Subaru Telescope equipped with the HiCIAO camera and AO188 adaptive optics
system. From the public ELODIE and SOPHIE archives we extracted available
high-resolution spectra and radial velocity (RV) measurements, along with RVs
from the Lick planet search program. We combined our multi-epoch astrometry
with these archival, partially unpublished RVs, and found that the companion is
a low-mass star, not a brown dwarf, as previously suggested. We found the
best-fitting dynamical masses to be and
M. We also performed spectral analysis of
the SOPHIE spectra with the iSpec code. The Hipparcos time-series photometry
shows a periodicity of d, which is also seen in SOPHIE spectra as an
RV modulation of the star A. We interpret it as being caused by spots on the
stellar surface, and the star to be rotating with the given period. From the
rotation and level of activity, we found that the system is
Myr old, consistent with an isochrone analysis ( Myr). This
work may serve as a test case for future studies of low-mass stars, brown
dwarfs and exoplanets by combination of RV and direct imaging data.Comment: 15 pages, 9 figures, 7 tables, to appear in Ap
The Structure of Pre-transitional Protoplanetary Disks I: Radiative Transfer Modeling of the Disk+Cavity in the PDS 70 system
Through detailed radiative transfer modeling, we present a disk+cavity model
to simultaneously explain both the SED and Subaru H-band polarized light
imaging for the pre-transitional protoplanetary disk PDS 70. Particularly, we
are able to match not only the radial dependence, but also the absolute scale,
of the surface brightness of the scattered light. Our disk model has a cavity
65 AU in radius, which is heavily depleted of sub-micron-sized dust grains, and
a small residual inner disk which produces a weak but still optically thick NIR
excess in the SED. To explain the contrast of the cavity edge in the Subaru
image, a factor of ~1000 depletion for the sub-micron-sized dust inside the
cavity is required. The total dust mass of the disk may be on the order of 1e-4
M_sun, only weakly constrained due to the lack of long wavelength observations
and the uncertainties in the dust model. The scale height of the
sub-micron-sized dust is ~6 AU at the cavity edge, and the cavity wall is
optically thick in the vertical direction at H-band. PDS 70 is not a member of
the class of (pre-)transitional disks identified by Dong et al. (2012), whose
members only show evidence of the cavity in the millimeter-sized dust but not
the sub-micron-sized dust in resolved images. The two classes of
(pre-)transitional disks may form through different mechanisms, or they may
just be at different evolution stages in the disk clearing process.Comment: 28 pages (single column), 7 figures, 1 table, ApJ accepte
High-Contrast NIR Polarization Imaging of MWC480
One of the key predictions of modeling from the IR excess of Herbig Ae stars
is that for protoplanetary disks, where significant grain growth and settling
has occurred, the dust disk has flattened to the point that it can be partially
or largely shadowed by the innermost material at or near the dust sublimation
radius. When the self-shadowing has already started, the outer disk is expected
to be detected in scattered light only in the exceptional cases that the scale
height of the dust disk at the sublimation radius is smaller than usual.
High-contrast imaging combined with the IR spectral energy distribution allow
us to measure the degree of flattening of the disk, as well as to determine the
properties of the outer disk. We present polarimetric differential imaging in
band obtained with Subaru/HiCIAO of one such system, MWC 480. The HiCIAO
data were obtained at a historic minimum of the NIR excess. The disk is
detected in scattered light from 0\farcs2-1\farcs0 (27.4-137AU). Together with
the marginal detection of the disk from 1998 February 24 by HST/NICMOS, our
data constrain the opening half angle for the disk to lie between
1.3. When compared with similar measures in CO for
the gas disk from the literature, the dust disk subtends only 30% of the
gas disk scale height (H/R0.03). Such a dust disk is a factor of 5-7
flatter than transitional disks, which have structural signatures that giant
planets have formed.Comment: 21 pages, 6 figures, 1 table, ApJ accepted 2012-05-0
Direct Imaging of Fine Structures in Giant Planet Forming Regions of the Protoplanetary Disk around AB Aurigae
We report high-resolution 1.6 \micron polarized intensity () images of
the circumstellar disk around the Herbig Ae star AB Aur at a radial distance of
22 AU () up to 554 AU (3.85), which have been obtained by the
high-contrast instrument HiCIAO with the dual-beam polarimetry. We revealed
complicated and asymmetrical structures in the inner part (140 AU) of
the disk, while confirming the previously reported outer ( 200 AU)
spiral structure. We have imaged a double ring structure at 40 and
100 AU and a ring-like gap between the two. We found a significant
discrepancy of inclination angles between two rings, which may indicate that
the disk of AB Aur is warped. Furthermore, we found seven dips (the typical
size is 45 AU or less) within two rings as well as three prominent
peaks at 40 AU. The observed structures, including a bumpy double ring, a
ring-like gap, and a warped disk in the innermost regions, provide essential
information for understanding the formation mechanism of recently detected
wide-orbit ( 20 AU) planets.Comment: 12 pages, 3 figure
Orbital characterization of GJ1108A system, and comparison of dynamical mass with model-derived mass for resolved binaries
We report an orbital characterization of GJ1108Aab that is a low-mass binary
system in pre-main-sequence phase. Via the combination of astrometry using
adaptive optics and radial velocity measurements, an eccentric orbital solution
of =0.63 is obtained, which might be induced by the Kozai-Lidov mechanism
with a widely separated GJ1108B system. Combined with several observed
properties, we confirm the system is indeed young. Columba is the most probable
moving group, to which the GJ1108A system belongs, although its membership to
the group has not been established. If the age of Columba is assumed for
GJ1108A, the dynamical masses of both GJ1108Aa and GJ1108Ab ( and ) are more massive than what an
evolutionary model predicts based on the age and luminosities. We consider the
discrepancy in mass comparison can attribute to an age uncertainty; the system
is likely older than stars in Columba, and effects that are not implemented in
classical models such as accretion history and magnetic activity are not
preferred to explain the mass discrepancy. We also discuss the performance of
the evolutionary model by compiling similar low-mass objects in evolutionary
state based on the literature. Consequently, it is suggested that the current
model on average reproduces the mass of resolved low-mass binaries without any
significant offsets.Comment: Accepted in Ap
Imaging of a Transitional Disk Gap in Reflected Light: Indications of Planet Formation Around the Young Solar Analog LkCa 15
We present H- and Ks-band imaging data resolving the gap in the transitional
disk around LkCa 15, revealing the surrounding nebulosity. We detect sharp
elliptical contours delimiting the nebulosity on the inside as well as the
outside, consistent with the shape, size, ellipticity, and orientation of
starlight reflected from the far-side disk wall, whereas the near-side wall is
shielded from view by the disk's optically thick bulk. We note that
forward-scattering of starlight on the near-side disk surface could provide an
alternate interpretation of the nebulosity. In either case, this discovery
provides confirmation of the disk geometry that has been proposed to explain
the spectral energy distributions (SED) of such systems, comprising an
optically thick outer disk with an inner truncation radius of ~46 AU enclosing
a largely evacuated gap. Our data show an offset of the nebulosity contours
along the major axis, likely corresponding to a physical pericenter offset of
the disk gap. This reinforces the leading theory that dynamical clearing by at
least one orbiting body is the cause of the gap. Based on evolutionary models,
our high-contrast imagery imposes an upper limit of 21 Jupiter masses on
companions at separations outside of 0.1" and of 13 Jupiter masses outside of
0.2". Thus, we find that a planetary system around LkCa 15 is the most likely
explanation for the disk architecture.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figures, accepted for publication in ApJ Letters. Minor
change to Figure
- …