scholarly journals MIRACLES: atmospheric characterization of directly imaged planets and substellar companions at 4–5 μm

2020 ◽  
Vol 644 ◽  
pp. A13
Author(s):  
T. Stolker ◽  
G.-D. Marleau ◽  
G. Cugno ◽  
P. Mollière ◽  
S. P. Quanz ◽  
...  

The circumstellar disk of PDS 70 hosts two forming planets, which are actively accreting gas from their environment. The physical and chemical characteristics of these planets remain ambiguous due to their unusual spectral appearance compared to more evolved objects. In this work, we report the first detection of PDS 70 b in the Brα and M′ filters with VLT/NACO, a tentative detection of PDS 70 c in Brα, and a reanalysis of archival NACO L′ and SPHERE H23 and K12 imaging data. The near side of the disk is also resolved with the Brα and M′ filters, indicating that scattered light is non-negligible at these wavelengths. The spectral energy distribution (SED) of PDS 70 b is well described by blackbody emission, for which we constrain the photospheric temperature and photospheric radius to Teff = 1193 ± 20 K and R = 3.0 ± 0.2 RJ. The relatively low bolometric luminosity, log(L∕L⊙) = −3.79 ± 0.02, in combination with the large radius, is not compatible with standard structure models of fully convective objects. With predictions from such models, and adopting a recent estimate of the accretion rate, we derive a planetary mass and radius in the range of Mp ≈ 0.5–1.5 MJ and Rp ≈ 1–2.5 RJ, independently of the age and post-formation entropy of the planet. The blackbody emission, large photospheric radius, and the discrepancy between the photospheric and planetary radius suggests that infrared observations probe an extended, dusty environment around the planet, which obscures the view on its molecular composition. Therefore, the SED is expected to trace the reprocessed radiation from the interior of the planet and/or partially from the accretion shock. The photospheric radius lies deep within the Hill sphere of the planet, which implies that PDS 70 b not only accretes gas but is also continuously replenished by dust. Finally, we derive a rough upper limit on the temperature and radius of potential excess emission from a circumplanetary disk, Teff ≲ 256 K and R ≲ 245 RJ, but we do find weak evidence that the current data favors a model with a single blackbody component.

2018 ◽  
Vol 617 ◽  
pp. A76 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. Chauvin ◽  
R. Gratton ◽  
M. Bonnefoy ◽  
A.-M. Lagrange ◽  
J. de Boer ◽  
...  

Context. HD 95086 (A8V, 17 Myr) hosts a rare planetary system for which a multi-belt debris disk and a giant planet of 4–5 MJup have been directly imaged. Aims. Our study aims to characterize the global architecture of this young system using the combination of radial velocity and direct imaging observations. We want to characterize the physical and orbital properties of HD 95086 b, search for additional planets at short and wide orbits and image the cold outer debris belt in scattered light. Methods. We used HARPS at the ESO 3.6 m telescope to monitor the radial velocity of HD 95086 over two years and investigate the existence of giant planets at less than 3 au orbital distance. With the IRDIS dual-band imager and the IFS integral field spectrograph of SPHERE at VLT, we imaged the faint circumstellar environment beyond 10 au at six epochs between 2015 and 2017. Results. We do not detect additional giant planets around HD 95086. We identify the nature (bound companion or background contaminant) of all point-like sources detected in the IRDIS field of view. None of them correspond to the ones recently discovered near the edge of the cold outer belt by ALMA. HD 95086 b is resolved for the first time in J-band with IFS. Its near-infrared spectral energy distribution is well fitted by a few dusty and/or young L7–L9 dwarf spectral templates. The extremely red 1–4 μm spectral distribution is typical of low-gravity objects at the L/T spectral type transition. The planet’s orbital motion is resolved between January 2015 and May 2017. Together with past NaCo measurements properly re-calibrated, our orbital fitting solutions favor a retrograde low to moderate-eccentricity orbit e = 0.2+0.3−0.2, with a semi-major axis ~52 au corresponding to orbital periods of ~288 yr and an inclination that peaks at i = 141°, which is compatible with a planet-disk coplanar configuration. Finally, we report the detection in polarimetric differential imaging of the cold outer debris belt between 100 and 300 au, consistent in radial extent with recent ALMA 1.3 mm resolved observations.


2019 ◽  
Vol 630 ◽  
pp. L6 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Mehner ◽  
W.-J. de Wit ◽  
D. Asmus ◽  
P. W. Morris ◽  
C. Agliozzo ◽  
...  

η Car is one of the most luminous and massive stars in our Galaxy and is the brightest mid-IR source in the sky outside our solar system. Since the late 1990s, the central source has dramatically brightened at UV and optical wavelengths. This might be explained by a decrease in circumstellar dust extinction. We aim to establish the mid-IR flux evolution and further our understanding of the star’s UV and optical brightening. Mid-IR images from 8−20 μm were obtained in 2018 with VISIR at the Very Large Telescope. Archival data from 2003 and 2005 were retrieved from the ESO Science Archive Facility, and historical records were collected from publications. We present mid-IR images of η Car with the highest angular resolution to date at the corresponding wavelengths (≥0.22″). We reconstruct the mid-IR evolution of the spectral energy distribution of the spatially integrated Homunculus nebula from 1968 to 2018 and find no long-term changes. The bolometric luminosity of η Car has been stable over the past five decades. We do not observe a long-term decrease in the mid-IR flux densities that could be associated with the brightening at UV and optical wavelengths, but circumstellar dust must be declining in our line of sight alone. Short-term flux variations within about 25% of the mean levels could be present.


1996 ◽  
Vol 112 ◽  
pp. 1678 ◽  
Author(s):  
K. Matthews ◽  
T. Nakajima ◽  
S. R. Kulkarni ◽  
B. R. Oppenheimer

Author(s):  
Arkadiy Sarkisyan ◽  
Olga Sholukhova ◽  
Sergei Fabrika ◽  
Azamat Valeev ◽  
Antoniya Valcheva ◽  
...  

Abstract We study Luminous Blue Variable (LBV) candidate J004341.84+411112.0 in the Andromeda galaxy. We present optical spectra of the object obtained with the 6-m telescope of SAO RAS. The candidate shows typical LBV features in its spectra: broad and strong hydrogen lines and the HeI lines with P Cigni profiles. Its remarkable spectral resemblance to the well known LBV P Cygni suggests a common nature of the objects and supports LBV classification of J004341.84+411112.0. We estimate the temperature, reddening, radius and luminosity of the star using its spectral energy distribution. Obtained bolometric luminosity of the candidate (M bol = -10.40±0.12 mag) is quite similar to those of known LBV stars in the Andromeda galaxy. We analysed ten year light curve of the object in R filter. The candidate demonstrates photometric variations of the order of 0.4 mag, with an overall brightness increasing trend ΔR > 0.1 mag. Therewith, the corresponding colour variations of the object are fully consistent with LBV behavior when a star become cooler and brighter in the optical spectral range with a nearly constant bolometric luminosity. LBV-type variability of the object, similarity of its spectrum and estimated luminosity to those of known LBVs allows us to classify J004341.84+411112.0 as a LBV.


2020 ◽  
Vol 633 ◽  
pp. A82 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Garufi ◽  
H. Avenhaus ◽  
S. Pérez ◽  
S. P. Quanz ◽  
R. G. van Holstein ◽  
...  

Context. Near-IR polarimetric images of protoplanetary disks enable us to characterize substructures that might be due to the interaction with (forming) planets. The available census is strongly biased toward massive disks around old stars, however. Aims. The DARTTS program aims at alleviating this bias by imaging a large number of T Tauri stars with diverse properties. Methods. DARTTS-S employs VLT/SPHERE to image the polarized scattered light from disks. In parallel, DARTTS-A provides ALMA images of the same targets for a comparison of different dust components. In this work, we present new SPHERE images of 21 circumstellar disks, which is the largest sample released to date. We also recalculated some relevant stellar and disk properties following Gaia DR2. Results. The targets of this work are significantly younger than those published thus far with polarimetric near-IR (NIR) imaging. Scattered light is unambiguously resolved in 11 targets, and some polarized unresolved signal is detected in 3 additional sources. Some disk substructures are detected. However, the paucity of spirals and shadows from this sample reinforces the trend according to which these NIR features are associated with Herbig stars, either because they are older or more massive. Furthermore, disk rings that are apparent in ALMA observations of some targets do not appear to have corresponding detections with SPHERE. Inner cavities larger than ~15 au are also absent from our images, even though they are expected from the spectral energy distribution. On the other hand, 3 objects show extended filaments at larger scale that are indicative of strong interaction with the surrounding medium. All but one of the undetected disks are best explained by their limited size (≲20 au), and the high occurrence of stellar companions in these sources suggests an important role in limiting the disk size. One undetected disk is massive and very large at millimeter wavelengths, implying that it is self-shadowed in the NIR. Conclusions. This work paves the way toward a more complete and less biased sample of scattered-light observations, which is required to interpret how disk features evolve throughout the disk lifetime.


2018 ◽  
Vol 617 ◽  
pp. A42 ◽  
Author(s):  
K. Mattila ◽  
M. Haas ◽  
L. K. Haikala ◽  
Y-S. Jo ◽  
K. Lehtinen ◽  
...  

Context. Dark nebulae display a surface brightness because dust grains scatter light of the general interstellar radiation field (ISRF). High-galactic-latitudes dark nebulae are seen as bright nebulae when surrounded by transparent areas which have less scattered light from the general galactic dust layer. Aims. Photometry of the bright dark nebulae LDN 1780, LDN 1642, and LBN 406 shall be used to derive scattering properties of dust and to investigate the presence of UV fluorescence emission by molecular hydrogen and the extended red emission (ERE). Methods. We used multi-wavelength optical photometry and imaging at ground-based telescopes and archival imaging and spectroscopic UV data from the spaceborn GALEX and SPEAR/FIMS instruments. In the analysis we used Monte Carlo RT and both observational data and synthetic models for the ISRF in the solar neighbourhood. The line-of-sight extinctions through the clouds have been determined using near infrared excesses of background stars and the 200/250 μm far infrared emission by dust as measured using the ISO and Herschel space observatories. Results. The optical surface brightness of the three target clouds can be explained in terms of scattered light. The dust albedo ranges from ~0.58 at 3500 Å to ~0.72 at 7500 Å. The spectral energy distribution of LDN 1780 is explained in terms of optical depth and background scattered light effects instead of the original published suggestion in terms of ERE. The far-ultraviolet surface brightness of LDN 1780 cannot be explained by scattered light only. In LDN 1780, H2 fluorescent emission in the wavelength range 1400–1700 Å has been detected and analysed. Conclusions. Our albedo values are in good agreement with the predictions of the dust model of Weingartner and Draine and with the THEMIS CMM model for evolved core-mantle grains. The distribution of H2 fluorescent emission in LDN 1780 shows a pronounced dichotomy with a strong preference for its southern side where enhanced illumination is impinging from the Sco OB2 association and the O star ζ Oph. A good correlation is found between the H2 fluorescence and a previously mapped 21-cm excess emission. The H2 fluorescence emission in LDN 1780 has been modelled using a PDR code; the resulting values for H2 column density and the total gas density are consistent with the estimates derived from CO observations and optical extinction along the line of sight.


2018 ◽  
Vol 620 ◽  
pp. A112 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. Bianchi ◽  
P. De Vis ◽  
S. Viaene ◽  
A. Nersesian ◽  
A. V. Mosenkov ◽  
...  

Aims. We aim to study the fraction of stellar radiation absorbed by dust, fabs, in 814 galaxies of different morphological types. The targets constitute the vast majority (93%) of the DustPedia sample, including almost all large (optical diameter larger than 1′), nearby (v ≤ 3000 km s−1) galaxies observed with the Herschel Space Observatory. Methods. For each object, we modelled the spectral energy distribution from the ultraviolet to the sub-millimetre using the dedicated, aperture-matched DustPedia photometry and the Code Investigating GALaxy Evolution (CIGALE). The value of fabs was obtained from the total luminosity emitted by dust and from the bolometric luminosity, which are estimated by the fit. Results. On average, 19% of the stellar radiation is absorbed by dust in DustPedia galaxies. The fraction rises to 25% if only late-type galaxies are considered. The dependence of fabs on morphology, showing a peak for Sb-Sc galaxies, is weak; it reflects a stronger, yet broad, positive correlation with the bolometric luminosity, which is identified for late-type, disk-dominated, high-specific-star-formation rate, gas-rich objects. We find no variation of fabs with inclination, at odds with radiative transfer models of edge-on galaxies. These results call for a self-consistent modelling of the evolution of the dust mass and geometry along the build-up of the stellar content. We also provide template spectral energy distributions in bins of morphology and luminosity and study the variation of fabs with stellar mass and specific star-formation rate. We confirm that the local Universe is missing the high fabs, luminous and actively star-forming objects necessary to explain the energy budget in observations of the extragalactic background light.


2013 ◽  
Vol 8 (S299) ◽  
pp. 76-77
Author(s):  
S. Wolff ◽  
M. Perrin ◽  
K. Stapelfeldt ◽  
G. Duchêne ◽  
J. Krist ◽  
...  

AbstractWe present detailed models of the edge-on protoplanetary disk ESO Hα 569 (SSTgbs J111110.7-764157) from resolved scattered light images from HST and a complete spectral energy distribution. Data was obtained as part of an HST campaign to catalogue edge-on disks around young stars in nearby star forming regions (HST program 12514, PI: Karl Stapelfeldt). We confirm that this object is an optically thick edge-on disk around a young star with an outer radius of 125 AU. Using full radiative transfer models, we probe the distribution of dust grains and overall shape of the disk (inclination, scale height, dust mass, maximum particle size, inner radius, flaring exponent and surface/volume density exponent).


2019 ◽  
Vol 488 (4) ◽  
pp. 4596-4606 ◽  
Author(s):  
J V Hernández Santisteban ◽  
V Cúneo ◽  
N Degenaar ◽  
J van den Eijnden ◽  
D Altamirano ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT IGR J17062–6143 is an ultracompact X-ray binary (UCXB) with an orbital period of 37.96 min. It harbours a millisecond X-ray pulsar that is spinning at 163 Hz and and has continuously been accreting from its companion star since 2006. Determining the composition of the accreted matter in UCXBs is of high interest for studies of binary evolution and thermonuclear burning on the surface of neutron stars. Here, we present a multiwavelength study of IGR J17062–6143 aimed to determine the detailed properties of its accretion disc and companion star. The multi-epoch photometric UV to near-infrared spectral energy distribution (SED) is consistent with an accretion disc Fν ∝ ν1/3. The SED modelling of the accretion disc allowed us to estimate an outer disc radius of $R_{\rm out} = 2.2^{+0.9}_{-0.4} \times 10^{10}$ cm and a mass-transfer rate of $\dot{m} = 1.8^{+1.8}_{-0.5}\times 10^{-10}$ M⊙ yr−1. Comparing this with the estimated mass-accretion rate inferred from its X-ray emission suggests that ≳90 per cent of the transferred mass is lost from the system. Moreover, our SED modelling shows that the thermal emission component seen in the X-ray spectrum is highly unlikely from the accretion disc and must therefore represent emission from the surface of the neutron star. Our low-resolution optical spectrum revealed a blue continuum and no emission lines, i.e. lacking H and He features. Based on the current data we cannot conclusively identify the nature of the companion star, but we make recommendations for future study that can distinguish between the different possible evolution histories of this X-ray binary. Finally, we demonstrate how multiwavelength observations can be effectively used to find more UCXBs among the LMXBs.


2019 ◽  
Vol 488 (3) ◽  
pp. 3507-3525 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicole Pawellek ◽  
Attila Moór ◽  
Julien Milli ◽  
Ágnes Kóspál ◽  
Johan Olofsson ◽  
...  

Abstract In a multiwavelength study of thermal emission and scattered light images we analyse the dust properties and structure of the debris disc around the A1-type main-sequence star 49 Cet. As a basis for this study, we present new scattered light images of the debris disc known to possess a high amount of both dust and gas. The outer region of the disc is revealed in former coronagraphic H-band and our new Y-band images from the Very Large Telescope SPHERE instrument. We use the knowledge of the disc’s radial extent inferred from ALMA observations and the grain size distribution found by spectral energy distribution fitting to generate semidynamical dust models of the disc. We compare the models to scattered light and thermal emission data and find that a disc with a maximum surface density at 110 au and shallow edges can describe both the thermal emission and the scattered light observations. This suggests that grains close to the blow-out limit and large grains stem from the same planetesimal population and are mainly influenced by radiation pressure. The influence of inward transport processes could not be analysed in this study.


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