A. Zurlo

First light of the VLT planet finder SPHERE III. New spectrophotometry and astrometry of the HR 8799 exoplanetary system

Context. The planetary system discovered around the young A-type HR 8799 provides a unique laboratory to: a) test planet formation theories; b) probe the diversity of system architectures at these separations, and c) perform comparative (exo)planetology. Aims. We present and exploit new near-infrared images and integral-field spectra of the four gas giants surrounding HR 8799 obtained with SPHERE, the new planet finder instrument at the Very Large Telescope, during the commissioning and science verification phase of the instrument (July–December 2014). With these new data, we contribute to completing the spectral energy distribution (SED) of these bodies in the 1.0–2.5 μm range. We also provide new astrometric data, in particular for planet e, to further constrain the orbits. Methods. We used the infrared dual-band imager and spectrograph (IRDIS) subsystem to obtain pupil-stabilized, dual-band H2H3 (1.593 μm, 1.667 μm), K1K2 (2.110 μm, 2.251 μm), and broadband J (1.245 μm) images of the four planets. IRDIS was operated in parallel with the integral field spectrograph (IFS) of SPHERE to collect low-resolution (R ~ 30), near-infrared (0.94–1.64 μm) spectra of the two innermost planets HR 8799 d and e. The data were reduced with dedicated algorithms, such as the Karhunen-Loeve image projection (KLIP), to reveal the planets. We used the so-called negative planets injection technique to extract their photometry, spectra, and measure their positions. We illustrate the astrometric performance of SPHERE through sample orbital fits compatible with SPHERE and literature data. Results. We demonstrated the ability of SPHERE to detect and characterize planets in this kind of systems, providing spectra and photometry of its components. The spectra improve upon the signal-to-noise ratio of previously obtained data and increase the spectral coverage down to the Y band. In addition, we provide the first detection of planet e in the J band. Astrometric positions for planets HR 8799 bcde are reported for the epochs of July, August, and December 2014. We measured the photometric values in J, H2H3, K1K2 bands for the four planets with a mean accuracy of 0.13 mag. We found upper limit constraints on the mass of a possible planet f of 3–7 MJup . Our new measurements are more consistent with the two inner planets d and e being in a 2d:1e or 3d:2e resonance. The spectra of HR 8799 d and e are well matched by those of L6-8 field dwarfs. However, the SEDs of these objects are redder than field L dwarfs longward of 1.6 μm.

Investigating the young solar system analog HD 95086. A combined HARPS and SPHERE exploration

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 gl ...

ALMA Observations of Elias 2-24: A Protoplanetary Disk with Multiple Gaps in the Ophiuchus Molecular Cloud

Fil: Cieza, Lucas A.. Atacama Large Millimeter-submillimeter Array; Chile. Universidad Diego Portales; Chile

The ALMA early science view of FUor/EXor objects - III. The slow and wide outflow of V883 Ori

Millennium Science Initiative (Chilean Ministry of Economy) Nucleus RC130007 CONICYT-FONDECYT 1140109 FONDECYT 3150550 University of Oklahoma Homer L. Dodge endowed chair Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO) 639.041.439 Alfred P. Sloan Foundation US Department of Energy Office of Science Center for High Performance Computing at the University of Utah University of Arizona Brazilian Participation Group Brookhaven National Laboratory Carnegie Mellon University University of Florida French Participation Group German Participation Group Harvard University Instituto de Astrofisica de Canarias Michigan State/Notre Dame/JINA Participation Group Johns Hopkins University Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory Max Planck Institute for Astrophysics Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics New Mexico State University New York University Ohio State University Pennsylvania State University University of Portsmouth Princeton University Spanish Participation Group University of Tokyo University of Utah Vanderbilt University University of Virginia University of Washington Yale University

First scattered light detection of a nearly edge-on transition disk around the T Tauri star RY Lupi

Context. Transition disks are considered sites of ongoing planet formation, and their dust and gas distributions could be signposts of embedded planets. The transition disk around the T Tauri star RY Lup has an inner dust cavity and displays a strong silicate emission feature. Aims. Using high-resolution imaging we study the disk geometry, including non-axisymmetric features, and its surface dust grain, to gain a better understanding of the disk evolutionary process. Moreover, we search for companion candidates, possibly connected to the disk. Methods. We obtained high-contrast and high angular resolution data in the near-infrared with the VLT/SPHERE extreme adaptive optics instrument whose goal is to study the planet formation by detecting and characterizing these planets and their formation environments through direct imaging. We performed polarimetric imaging of the RY Lup disk with IRDIS (at 1.6 μm), and obtained intensity images with the IRDIS dual-band imaging camera simultaneously with the IFS spectro-imager (0.9–1.3 μm). Results. We resolved for the first time the scattered light from the nearly edge-on circumstellar disk around RY Lup, at projected separations in the 100 au range. The shape of the disk and its sharp features are clearly detectable at wavelengths ranging from 0.9 to 1.6 μm. We show that the observed morphology can be interpreted as spiral arms in the disk. This interpretation is supported by in-depth numerical simulations. We also demonstrate that these features can be produced by one planet interacting with the disk. We also detect several point sources which are classified as probable background objects.

Orbital and atmospheric characterization of the planet within the gap of the PDS 70 transition disk

Aims: We aim to characterize the orbital and atmospheric properties of PDS 70 b, which was first identified on May 2015 in the course of the SHINE survey with SPHERE, the extreme adaptive-optics instrument at the VLT. Methods: We obtained new deep SPHERE/IRDIS imaging and SPHERE/IFS spectroscopic observations of PDS 70 b. The astrometric baseline now covers 6 years which allows us to perform an orbital analysis. For the first time, we present spectrophotometry of the young planet which covers almost the entire near-infrared range (0.96 to 3.8 micrometer). We use different atmospheric models covering a large parameter space in temperature, log(g), chemical composition, and cloud properties to characterize the properties of the atmosphere of PDS 70 b. Results: PDS 70 b is most likely orbiting the star on a circular and disk coplanar orbit at ~22 au inside the gap of the disk. We find a range of models that can describe the spectrophotometric data reasonably well in the temperature range between 1000-1600 K and log(g) no larger than 3.5 dex. The planet radius covers a relatively large range between 1.4 and 3.7 R_jupiter with the larger radii being higher than expected from planet evolution models for the age of the planet of 5.4 Myr. Conclusions: This study provides a comprehensive dataset on the orbital motion of PDS 70 b, indicating a circular orbit and a motion coplanar with the disk. The first detailed spectral energy distribution of PDS 70 b indicates a temperature typical for young giant planets. The detailed atmospheric analysis indicates that a circumplanetary disk may contribute to the total planet flux.

The ALMA early science view of FUor/EXor objects – V. Continuum disc masses and sizes

Low-mass stars build a significant fraction of their total mass during short outbursts of enhanced accretion known as FUor and EXor outbursts. FUor objects are characterized by a sudden brightening of ~5 magnitudes at visible wavelengths within one year and remain bright for decades. EXor objects have lower amplitude outbursts on shorter timescales. Here we discuss a 1.3 mm ALMA mini-survey of eight outbursting sources (three FUor, four EXor, and the borderline object V1647 Ori) in the Orion Molecular Cloud. While previous papers in this series discuss the remarkable molecular outflows observed in the three FUor objects and V1647 Ori, here we focus on the continuum data and the differences and similarities between the FUor and EXor populations. We find that FUor discs are significantly more massive (~80-600 M_JUP) than the EXor objects (~0.5-40 M_JUP ). We also report that the EXor sources lack the prominent outflows seen in the FUor population. Even though our sample is small, the large differences in disc masses and outflow activity suggest that the two types of objects represent different evolutionary stages. The FUor sources seem to be rather compact (Rc < 20-40 au) and to have a smaller characteristic radius for a given disc mass when compared to T Tauri stars. V1118 Ori, the only known close binary systemin our sample, is shown to host a disc around each one of the stellar components. The disc around HBC 494 is asymmetric, hinting at a structure in the outer disc or the presence of a second disc.

The ALMA early science view of FUor/EXor objects – IV. Misaligned outflows in the complex star-forming environment of V1647 Ori and McNeil's Nebula

Comision Nacional de Investigacion Cientifica y Tecnologica (CONICYT) Fondo Nacional de Desarrollo Cientifico y Tecnologico (FONDECYT) 3150550 1171246 Millennium Science Initiative (Chilean Ministry of Economy) Nucleus RC 130007 National Aeronautics and Space Administration GO6-17013A Joint Committee of ESO/Government of Chile Science and Technology Foundation of Portugal (FCT) IF/00194/2015 Spanish Ministerio de Economia y Competitividad AYA2014-55840-P University of Oklahoma Homer L. Dodge endowed chair Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO). 639.041.439

The GJ 504 system revisited: Combining interferometric, radial velocity, and high contrast imaging data★

The G-type star GJ504A is known to host a 3 to 35 MJup companion whose temperature, mass, and projected separation all contribute to make it a test case for the planet formation theories and for atmospheric models of giant planets and light brown dwarfs. We collected data from the CHARA interferometer, SOPHIE spectrograph, and VLT/SPHERE high contrast imager to revisit the properties of the system. We measure a radius of 1.35+/- 0.04Rsun for GJ504A which yields isochronal ages of 21+/-2Myr or 4.0+/-1.8Gyr for the system and line-of-sight stellar rotation axis inclination of

High-contrast imaging of HD 163296 with the Keck/NIRC2 L′-band vortex coronograph

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