243 research outputs found
Infrared spectropolarimetric detection of intrinsic polarization from a core-collapse supernova
Massive stars die an explosive death as a core-collapse supernova (CCSN). The exact physical processes that cause the collapsing star to rebound into an explosion are not well understood1–3, and the key to resolving this issue may lie in the measurement of the shape of CCSNe ejecta. Spectropolarimetry is the only way to perform this measurement for CCSNe outside the Milky Way and Magellanic Clouds. We present the infrared spectropolarimetric detection of a CCSN enabled by the new highly sensitive WIRC+Pol instrument at Palomar Observatory, which can observe CCSNe (magnitude M = −17 mag) out to 20 Mpc at ~0.1% polarimetric precision. Infrared spectropolarimetry is less affected than optical spectropolarimetry by dust scattering in the circumstellar and interstellar media, thereby providing a less biased probe of the intrinsic geometry of the supernova ejecta. SN 2018hna, a SN 1987A-like explosion, shows 2.0 ± 0.3% continuum polarization in the J band oriented at ~160° on sky 182 days after the explosion. Assuming a prolate geometry as in SN 1987A, we infer an ejecta axis ratio of <0.48 with the axis of symmetry pointing at a 70° position angle. The axis ratio is similar to that of SN 1987A, suggesting that the two CCSNe may share intrinsic geometry and inclination angles. Our data do not rule out oblate ejecta. We also observe one other CCSN and two thermonuclear supernovae in the J band. Supernova 2020oi, a stripped-envelope type Ic SN in Messier 100 has broadband p = 0.37 ± 0.09% at peak light, indicative of either a 10% asymmetry or host interstellar polarization. The type Ia SNe 2019ein and 2020ue have <0.33% and <1.08% polarization near peak light, indicative of asymmetries of less than 10% and 20%, respectively
Estimation of polarization aberrations and their effect on the coronagraphic performance for future space telescopes
A major goal of proposed future space observatories, such as the Habitable
World Observatory, is to directly image and characterize Earth-like planets
around Sun-like stars to search for habitability signatures requiring the
starlight suppression (contrast) of 1e-10. One of the significant aspects
affecting this contrast is the polarization aberrations generated from the
reflection from mirror surfaces. The polarization aberrations are the
phase-dependent amplitude and phase patterns originating from the Fresnel
reflections of the mirror surfaces. These aberrations depend on the angle of
incidence and coating parameters of the surface. This paper simulates the
polarization aberrations for an on-axis and off-axis TMA telescope of a 6.5 m
monolithic primary mirror. We analyze the polarization aberrations and their
effect on the coronagraphic performance for eight different recipes of mirror
coatings for Astronomical filter bands g-I: three single-layer metal coatings
and five recipes of protective coatings. First, the Jones pupils are estimated
for each coating and filter band using the polarization ray tracing in Zemax.
Then, we propagate these Jones pupils through a Vector Vortex Coronagraph and
Perfect Coronagraphs using hcipy, a physical optics-based simulation framework.
The analysis shows that the two main polarization aberrations generated from
the four mirrors are the retardance-defocus and retardance-tilt. The
simulations also show that the coating plays a significant role in determining
the strength of the aberrations. The bare/oxi-aluminum and Al+18nm LiF coating
outperforms all the other coatings by one order of magnitude.Comment: 13 pages, 11 figures, SPIE Optics+Photonics 2023 proceeding, Paper
no: 12680-2
Polarization aberrations in next-generation giant segmented mirror telescopes (GSMTs) I. Effect on the coronagraphic performance
Next-generation large segmented mirror telescopes are expected to perform
direct imaging and characterization of Earth-like rocky planets, which requires
contrast limits of to at wavelengths from I to J band. One
critical aspect affecting the raw on-sky contrast are polarization aberrations
arising from the reflection from the telescope's mirror surfaces and instrument
optics. We simulate the polarization aberrations and estimate their effect on
the achievable contrast for three next-generation ground-based large segmented
mirror telescopes. We performed ray-tracing in Zemax and computed the
polarization aberrations and Jones pupil maps using the polarization
ray-tracing algorithm. The impact of these aberrations on the contrast is
estimated by propagating the Jones pupil maps through a set of idealized
coronagraphs using hcipy, a physical optics-based simulation framework. The
optical modeling of the giant segmented mirror telescopes (GSMTs) shows that
polarization aberrations create significant leakage through a coronagraphic
system. The dominant aberration is retardance defocus, which originates from
the steep angles on the primary and secondary mirrors. The retardance defocus
limits the contrast to to at 1 at visible
wavelengths, and to at infrared wavelengths. The
simulations also show that the coating plays a major role in determining the
strength of the aberrations. Polarization aberrations will need to be
considered during the design of high-contrast imaging instruments for the next
generation of extremely large telescopes. This can be achieved either through
compensation optics, robust coronagraphs, specialized coatings, calibration,
and data analysis approaches or by incorporating polarimetry with high-contrast
imaging to measure these effects.Comment: 18 pages, 12 figures, Accepted in Astronomy & Astrophysics manuscript
no. aa45651-2
Bringing "The Moth" to Light: A Planet-Sculpting Scenario for the HD 61005 Debris Disk
The HD 61005 debris disk ("The Moth") stands out from the growing collection
of spatially resolved circumstellar disks by virtue of its unusual swept-back
morphology, brightness asymmetries, and dust ring offset. Despite several
suggestions for the physical mechanisms creating these features, no definitive
answer has been found. In this work, we demonstrate the plausibility of a
scenario in which the disk material is shaped dynamically by an eccentric,
inclined planet. We present new Keck NIRC2 scattered-light angular differential
imaging of the disk at 1.2-2.3 microns that further constrains its outer
morphology (projected separations of 27-135 AU). We also present complementary
Gemini Planet Imager 1.6 micron total intensity and polarized light detections
that probe down to projected separations less than 10 AU. To test our
planet-sculpting hypothesis, we employed secular perturbation theory to
construct parent body and dust distributions that informed scattered-light
models. We found that this method produced models with morphological and
photometric features similar to those seen in the data, supporting the premise
of a planet-perturbed disk. Briefly, our results indicate a disk parent body
population with a semimajor axis of 40-52 AU and an interior planet with an
eccentricity of at least 0.2. Many permutations of planet mass and semimajor
axis are allowed, ranging from an Earth mass at 35 AU to a Jupiter mass at 5
AU.Comment: Accepted to AJ; added Figure 5 and minor text edit
Direct Imaging in Reflected Light: Characterization of Older, Temperate Exoplanets With 30-m Telescopes
Direct detection, also known as direct imaging, is a method for discovering
and characterizing the atmospheres of planets at intermediate and wide
separations. It is the only means of obtaining spectra of non-transiting
exoplanets. Characterizing the atmospheres of planets in the <5 AU regime,
where RV surveys have revealed an abundance of other worlds, requires a
30-m-class aperture in combination with an advanced adaptive optics system,
coronagraph, and suite of spectrometers and imagers - this concept underlies
planned instruments for both TMT (the Planetary Systems Imager, or PSI) and the
GMT (GMagAO-X). These instruments could provide astrometry, photometry, and
spectroscopy of an unprecedented sample of rocky planets, ice giants, and gas
giants. For the first time habitable zone exoplanets will become accessible to
direct imaging, and these instruments have the potential to detect and
characterize the innermost regions of nearby M-dwarf planetary systems in
reflected light. High-resolution spectroscopy will not only illuminate the
physics and chemistry of exo-atmospheres, but may also probe rocky, temperate
worlds for signs of life in the form of atmospheric biomarkers (combinations of
water, oxygen and other molecular species). By completing the census of
non-transiting worlds at a range of separations from their host stars, these
instruments will provide the final pieces to the puzzle of planetary
demographics. This whitepaper explores the science goals of direct imaging on
30-m telescopes and the technology development needed to achieve them.Comment: (March 2018) Submitted to the Exoplanet Science Strategy committee of
the NA
High-contrast spectroscopy testbed for Segmented Telescopes: instrument overview and development progress
The High Contrast spectroscopy testbed for Segmented Telescopes (HCST) is being developed at Caltech. It aims at addressing the technology gap for future exoplanet imagers and providing the U.S. community with an academic facility to test components and techniques for high contrast imaging, focusing on segmented apertures proposed for future ground-based (TMT, ELT) and space-based telescopes (HabEx, LUVOIR). We present an overview of the design of the instrument and a detailed look at the testbed build and initial alignment. We offer insights into stumbling blocks encountered along the path and show that the testbed is now operational and open for business. We aim to use the testbed in the future for testing of high contrast imaging techniques and technologies with amongst with thing, a TMT-like pupil
Gemini Planet Imager Observational Calibrations VI: Photometric and Spectroscopic Calibration for the Integral Field Spectrograph
The Gemini Planet Imager (GPI) is a new facility instrument for the Gemini
Observatory designed to provide direct detection and characterization of
planets and debris disks around stars in the solar neighborhood. In addition to
its extreme adaptive optics and corona graphic systems which give access to
high angular resolution and high-contrast imaging capabilities, GPI contains an
integral field spectrograph providing low resolution spectroscopy across five
bands between 0.95 and 2.5 m. This paper describes the sequence of
processing steps required for the spectro-photometric calibration of GPI
science data, and the necessary calibration files. Based on calibration
observations of the white dwarf HD 8049B we estimate that the systematic error
in spectra extracted from GPI observations is less than 5%. The flux ratio of
the occulted star and fiducial satellite spots within coronagraphic GPI
observations, required to estimate the magnitude difference between a target
and any resolved companions, was measured in the -band to be in laboratory measurements and using
on-sky observations. Laboratory measurements for the , , and
filters are also presented. The total throughput of GPI, Gemini South and the
atmosphere of the Earth was also measured in each photometric passband, with a
typical throughput in -band of 18% in the non-coronagraphic mode, with some
variation observed over the six-month period for which observations were
available. We also report ongoing development and improvement of the data cube
extraction algorithm.Comment: 15 pages, 6 figures. Proceedings of the SPIE, 9147-30
Gemini Planet Imager observational calibrations XV: instrument calibrations after six years on sky
The Gemini Planet Imager (GPI) is a high-contrast adaptive optics instrument designed to detect and characterize substellar companions and circumstellar debris disks around nearby young stars using infrared integral field spectroscopy and polarimetry. GPI has been in routine operations at Gemini South for the past six years. Because precise astrometry and photometry of exoplanets is critical to GPI's science, we undertook extensive efforts both in-lab and on-sky to refine the astrometric and photometric calibration of the instrument. We describe revisions to the GPI Data Reduction Pipeline (DRP) that account for these revised calibrations, and that fix several issues identified over the previous six years, including some subtle issues affecting astrometric calibrations caused by a drift of the instrument’s clock. These calibrations are critical for the interpretation of observations obtained with GPI, and for a comparison with measurements from other high-contrast imaging instruments
Gemini Planet Imager observational calibrations XV: instrument calibrations after six years on sky
The Gemini Planet Imager (GPI) is a high-contrast adaptive optics instrument designed to detect and characterize substellar companions and circumstellar debris disks around nearby young stars using infrared integral field spectroscopy and polarimetry. GPI has been in routine operations at Gemini South for the past six years. Because precise astrometry and photometry of exoplanets is critical to GPI's science, we undertook extensive efforts both in-lab and on-sky to refine the astrometric and photometric calibration of the instrument. We describe revisions to the GPI Data Reduction Pipeline (DRP) that account for these revised calibrations, and that fix several issues identified over the previous six years, including some subtle issues affecting astrometric calibrations caused by a drift of the instrument’s clock. These calibrations are critical for the interpretation of observations obtained with GPI, and for a comparison with measurements from other high-contrast imaging instruments
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