185 research outputs found
The GraF instrument for imaging spectroscopy with the adaptive optics
The GraF instrument using a Fabry-Perot interferometer cross-dispersed with a
grating was one of the first integral-field and long-slit spectrographs built
for and used with an adaptive optics system. We describe its concept, design,
optimal observational procedures and the measured performances. The instrument
was used in 1997-2001 at the ESO 3.6 m telescope equipped with ADONIS adaptive
optics and SHARPII+ camera. The operating spectral range was 1.2 - 2.5 microns.
We used the spectral resolution from 500 to 10 000 combined with the angular
resolution of 0.1" - 0.2". The quality of GraF data is illustrated by the
integral field spectroscopy of the complex 0.9" x 0.9" central region of Eta
Car in the 1.7 microns spectral range at the limit of spectral and angular
resolutions.Comment: 36 pages, 12 figures, accepted by Ex
ExTrA: Exoplanets in Transit and their Atmospheres
The ExTrA facility, located at La Silla observatory, will consist of a
near-infrared multi-object spectrograph fed by three 60-cm telescopes. ExTrA
will add the spectroscopic resolution to the traditional differential
photometry method. This shall enable the fine correction of color-dependent
systematics that would otherwise hinder ground-based observations. With both
this novel method and an infrared-enabled efficiency, ExTrA aims to find
transiting telluric planets orbiting in the habitable zone of bright nearby M
dwarfs. It shall have the versatility to do so by running its own independent
survey and also by concurrently following-up on the space candidates unveiled
by K2 and TESS. The exoplanets detected by ExTrA will be amenable to
atmospheric characterisation with VLTs, JWST, and ELTs and could give our first
peek into an exo-life laboratory.Comment: 15 pages, 11 figures, SPIE 201
A probable giant planet imaged in the Beta Pictoris disk
Since the discovery of its dusty disk in 1984, Beta Pictoris has become the
prototype of young early-type planetary systems, and there are now various
indications that a massive Jovian planet is orbiting the star at ~ 10 AU.
However, no planets have been detected around this star so far. Our goal was to
investigate the close environment of Beta Pic, searching for planetary
companion(s). Deep adaptive-optics L'-band images of Beta Pic were recorded
using the NaCo instrument at the Very Large Telescope. A faint point-like
signal is detected at a projected distance of ~ 8 AU from the star, within the
North-East side of the dust disk. Various tests were made to rule out with a
good confidence level possible instrumental or atmospheric artifacts. The
probability of a foreground or background contaminant is extremely low, based
in addition on the analysis of previous deep Hubble Space Telescope images. The
object L'=11.2 apparent magnitude would indicate a typical temperature of ~1500
K and a mass of ~ 8 Jovian masses. If confirmed, it could explain the main
morphological and dynamical peculiarities of the Beta Pic system. The present
detection is unique among A-stars by the proximity of the resolved planet to
its parent star. Its closeness and location inside the Beta Pic disk suggest a
formation process by core accretion or disk instabilities rather than a
binary-like formation process.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figures, 1 table. A&A Letters, in pres
PIONIER: a visitor instrument for the VLTI
PIONIER is a 4-telescope visitor instrument for the VLTI, planned to see its
first fringes in 2010. It combines four ATs or four UTs using a pairwise ABCD
integrated optics combiner that can also be used in scanning mode. It provides
low spectral resolution in H and K band. PIONIER is designed for imaging with a
specific emphasis on fast fringe recording to allow closure-phases and
visibilities to be precisely measured. In this work we provide the detailed
description of the instrument and present its updated status.Comment: Proceedings of SPIE conference Optical and Infrared Interferometry II
(Conference 7734) San Diego 201
A narrow, edge-on disk resolved around HD 106906 with SPHERE
HD~106906AB is so far the only young binary system around which a planet has
been imaged and a debris disk evidenced thanks to a strong IR excess. As such,
it represents a unique opportunity to study the dynamics of young planetary
systems. We aim at further investigating the close (tens of au scales)
environment of the HD~106906AB system. We used the extreme AO fed, high
contrast imager SPHERE recently installed on the VLT to observe HD~106906. Both
the IRDIS imager and the Integral Field Spectrometer were used. We discovered a
very inclined, ring-like disk at a distance of 65~au from the star. The disk
shows a strong brightness asymmetry with respect to its semi-major axis. It
shows a smooth outer edge, compatible with ejection of small grains by the
stellar radiation pressure. We show furthermore that the planet's projected
position is significantly above the disk's PA. Given the determined disk
inclination, it is not excluded though that the planet could still orbit within
the disk plane if at a large separation (2000--3000 au). We identified several
additional point sources in the SPHERE/IRDIS field-of-view, that appear to be
background objects. We compare this system with other debris disks sharing
similarities, and we briefly discuss the present results in the framework of
dynamical evolution.Comment: 7 pages, 6 figures, accepted by Astronomy & Astrophysic
First light of the VLT planet finder SPHERE. I. Detection and characterization of the sub-stellar companion GJ 758 B
GJ758 B is a brown dwarf companion to a nearby (15.76 pc) solar-type,
metal-rich (M/H = +0.2 dex) main-sequence star (G9V) that was discovered with
Subaru/HiCIAO in 2009. From previous studies, it has drawn attention as being
the coldest (~600K) companion ever directly imaged around a neighboring star.
We present new high-contrast data obtained during the commissioning of the
SPHERE instrument at the VLT. The data was obtained in Y-, J-, H-, and Ks-bands
with the dual-band imaging (DBI) mode of IRDIS, providing a broad coverage of
the full near-infrared (near-IR) range at higher contrast and better spectral
sampling than previously reported. In this new set of high-quality data, we
report the re-detection of the companion, as well as the first detection of a
new candidate closer-in to the star. We use the new 8 photometric points for an
extended comparison of GJ758 B with empirical objects and 4 families of
atmospheric models. From comparison to empirical object, we estimate a T8
spectral type, but none of the comparison object can accurately represent the
observed near-IR fluxes of GJ758 B. From comparison to atmospheric models, we
attribute a Teff = 600K 100K, but we find that no atmospheric model can
adequately fit all the fluxes of GJ758 B. The photometry of the new candidate
companion is broadly consistent with L-type objects, but a second epoch with
improved photometry is necessary to clarify its status. The new astrometry of
GJ758 B shows a significant proper motion since the last epoch. We use this
result to improve the determination of the orbital characteristics using two
fitting approaches, Least-Square Monte Carlo and Markov Chain Monte Carlo.
Finally, we analyze the sensitivity of our data to additional closer-in
companions and reject the possibility of other massive brown dwarf companions
down to 4-5 AU. [abridged]Comment: 20 pages, 15 figures. Accepted for publication in A&
SPHERE: the exoplanet imager for the Very Large Telescope
Observations of circumstellar environments to look for the direct signal of
exoplanets and the scattered light from disks has significant instrumental
implications. In the past 15 years, major developments in adaptive optics,
coronagraphy, optical manufacturing, wavefront sensing and data processing,
together with a consistent global system analysis have enabled a new generation
of high-contrast imagers and spectrographs on large ground-based telescopes
with much better performance. One of the most productive is the
Spectro-Polarimetic High contrast imager for Exoplanets REsearch (SPHERE)
designed and built for the ESO Very Large Telescope (VLT) in Chile. SPHERE
includes an extreme adaptive optics system, a highly stable common path
interface, several types of coronagraphs and three science instruments. Two of
them, the Integral Field Spectrograph (IFS) and the Infra-Red Dual-band Imager
and Spectrograph (IRDIS), are designed to efficiently cover the near-infrared
(NIR) range in a single observation for efficient young planet search. The
third one, ZIMPOL, is designed for visible (VIR) polarimetric observation to
look for the reflected light of exoplanets and the light scattered by debris
disks. This suite of three science instruments enables to study circumstellar
environments at unprecedented angular resolution both in the visible and the
near-infrared. In this work, we present the complete instrument and its on-sky
performance after 4 years of operations at the VLT.Comment: Final version accepted for publication in A&
Screening, diagnosis and monitoring of sarcopenia:When to use which tool?
Background & aims: Sarcopenia is a muscle disorder associated with loss of muscle mass, strength and function. Early screening, diagnosis and treatment may improve outcome in different disease conditions. A wide variety of tools for estimation of muscle mass is available and each tool has specific technical requirements. However, different investigational settings and lack of homogeneity of populations influence the definition of gold standards, proving it difficult to systematically adopt these tools. Recently, the European Working Group on Sarcopenia in Older People (EWGSOP) published a revised recommendation (EWGSOP-2) and algorithm for using tools for screening and diagnosing sarcopenia. However, agreement of the EWGSOP2 criteria with other classifications is poor and although an overview of available tools is valuable, for the purpose of clinical decision-making the reverse is useful; a given scenario asks for the most suitable tools. Results: Tools were identified for screening, diagnostics and longitudinal monitoring of muscle mass. For each of these clinical scenarios the most appropriate tools were listed and for each technique their usability is specified based on sensitivity and specificity. Based on this information a specific recommendation is made for each clinical scenario. Conclusion: This narrative review provides an overview of currently available tools and future developments for different clinical scenarios such as screening, diagnosis and longitudinal monitoring of alterations in muscle status. It supports clinical decision-making in choosing the right tools for muscle mass quantification depending on the need within a given clinical scenario as well as the local availability and expertise. (C) 2022 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd on behalf of European Society for Clinical Nutrition and Metabolism
System overview of the VLTI Spectro-Imager
The VLTI Spectro Imager project aims to perform imaging with a temporal
resolution of 1 night and with a maximum angular resolution of 1
milliarcsecond, making best use of the Very Large Telescope Interferometer
capabilities. To fulfill the scientific goals (see Garcia et. al.), the system
requirements are: a) combining 4 to 6 beams; b) working in spectral bands J, H
and K; c) spectral resolution from R= 100 to 12000; and d) internal fringe
tracking on-axis, or off-axis when associated to the PRIMA dual-beam facility.
The concept of VSI consists on 6 sub-systems: a common path distributing the
light between the fringe tracker and the scientific instrument, the fringe
tracker ensuring the co-phasing of the array, the scientific instrument
delivering the interferometric observables and a calibration tool providing
sources for internal alignment and interferometric calibrations. The two
remaining sub-systems are the control system and the observation support
software dedicated to the reduction of the interferometric data. This paper
presents the global concept of VSI science path including the common path, the
scientific instrument and the calibration tool. The scientific combination
using a set of integrated optics multi-way beam combiners to provide
high-stability visibility and closure phase measurements are also described.
Finally we will address the performance budget of the global VSI instrument.
The fringe tracker and scientific spectrograph will be shortly described
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