Jean-Pierre Rivet

ASTEP 400: a telescope designed for exoplanet transit detection from Dome C, Antarctica

The Concordia Base in Dome C, Antarctica, is an extremely promising site for photometric astronomy due to the 3- month long night during the Antarctic winter, favorable weather conditions, and low scintillation. The ASTEP project (Antarctic Search for Transiting ExoPlanets) is a pilot project which seeks to identify transiting planets and understand the limits of visible photometry from this site. ASTEP 400 is an optical 40cm telescope with a field of view of 1° x 1°. The expected photometric sensitivity is 1E-3, per hour for at least 1,000 stars. The optical design guarantees high homogeneity of the PSF sizes in the field of view. The use of carbon fibers in the telescope structure guarantees high stability. The focal optics and the detectors are enclosed in a thermally regulated box which withstands extremely low temperatures. The telescope designed to run at -80°C (-110°F) was set up at Dome C during the southern summer 2009- 2010. It began its nightly observations in March 2010.

Near-Earth asteroid (3200) Phaethon: Characterization of its orbit, spin state, and thermophysical parameters

Context. The near-Earth asteroid (3200) Phaethon is an intriguing object: its perihelion is at only 0.14 au and is associated with the Geminid meteor stream. Aims. We aim to use all available disk-integrated optical data to derive a reliable convex shape model of Phaethon. By interpreting the available space- and ground-based thermal infrared data and Spitzer spectra using a thermophysical model, we also aim to further constrain its size, thermal inertia, and visible geometric albedo. Methods. We applied the convex inversion method to the new optical data obtained by six instruments and to previous observations. The convex shape model was then used as input for the thermophysical modeling. We also studied the long-term stability of Phaethon’s orbit and spin axis with a numerical orbital and rotation-state integrator. Results. We present a new convex shape model and rotational state of Phaethon: a sidereal rotation period of 3.603958(2) h and ecliptic coordinates of the preferred pole orientation of (319°, −39°) with a 5° uncertainty. Moreover, we derive its size ( D = 5.1 ± 0.2 km), thermal inertia (Γ = 600 ± 200 J m –2 s –1/2 K –1 ), geometric visible albedo ( p V = 0.122 ± 0.008), and estimate the macroscopic surface roughness. We also find that the Sun illumination at the perihelion passage during the past several thousand years is not connected to a specific area on the surface, which implies non-preferential heating.

RETURN OF THE KING: TIME-SERIES PHOTOMETRY OF FO AQUARII’S INITIAL RECOVERY FROM ITS UNPRECEDENTED 2016 LOW STATE

In 2016 May, the intermediate polar FO~Aqr was detected in a low state for the first time in its observational history. We report time-resolved photometry of the system during its initial recovery from this faint state. Our data, which includes high-speed photometry with cadences of just 2 sec, shows the existence of very strong periodicities at 22.5 min and 11.26 min, equivalent to the spin-orbit beat frequency and twice its value, respectively. A pulse at the spin frequency is also present but at a much lower amplitude than is normally observed in the bright state. By comparing our power spectra with theoretical models, we infer that a substantial amount of accretion was stream-fed during our observations, in contrast to the disk-fed accretion that dominates the bright state. In addition, we find that FO~Aqrs rate of recovery has been unusually slow in comparison to rates of recovery seen in other magnetic cataclysmic variables, with an

A polarimetric investigation of Jupiter: Disk-resolved imaging polarimetry and spectropolarimetry

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On-sky observations with an achromatic hybrid phase knife coronagraph in the visible

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Optical long baseline intensity interferometry: prospects for stellar physics

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Shape and spin determination of Barbarian asteroids

days. The recovery also shows irregular variations in the median brightness of as much as 0.2~mag over a 10-day span. Finally, we show that the arrival times of the spin pulses are dependent upon the systems overall brightness.

Opening a new window on the southern stars for less money: PAIX the first Antarctica polar mission photometer

Context. Polarimetry is a powerful remote sensing tool to characterise solar system planets and, potentially, to detect and characterise exoplanets. The linear polarisation of a planet as a function of wavelength and phase angle is sensitive to the cloud and haze particle properties in planetary atmospheres, as well as to their altitudes and optical thicknesses.Aims. We present for the first time polarimetric signals of Jupiter mapped over the entire disk, showing features such as contrasts between the belts and zones, the polar regions, and the Great Red Spot. We investigate the use of these maps for atmospheric characterisation and discuss the potential application of polarimetry to the study of the atmospheres of exoplanets. Methods. We have obtained polarimetric images of Jupiter, in the B , V , and R filters, over a phase angle range of α = 4°–10.5°. In addition, we have obtained two spectropolarimetric datasets, over the wavelength range 500–850u2009nm. An atmospheric model was sought for all of the datasets, which was consistent with the observed behaviour over the wavelength and phase angle range. Results. The polarimetric maps show clear latitudinal structure, with increasing polarisation towards the polar regions, in all filters. The spectropolarimetric datasets show a decrease in polarisation as a function of wavelength along with changes in the polarisation in methane absorption bands. A model fit was achieved by varying the cloud height and haze optical thickness; this can roughly produce the variation across latitude for the V and R filters, but not for the B filter data. The same model particles are also able to produce a close fit to the spectropolarimetric data. The atmosphere of Jupiter is known to be complex in structure, and data taken at intermediate phase angles (unreachable for Earth-based telescopes) seems essential for a complete characterisation of the atmospheric constituents. Because exoplanets orbit other stars, they are observable at intermediate phase angles and thus promise to be better targets for Earth-based polarimetry.

ASTEP South: A first photometric analysis

Context. The four-quadrant phase mask stellar coronagraph, introduced by D. Rouan et al., is capable of achieving very high dynamical range imaging and was studied in the context of the direct detection of extra-solar planets. Achromatic four-quadrant phase mask is currently being developed for broadband IR applications. Aims. We report on laboratory and on-sky tests of a prototype coronagraph in the visible. This prototype, the achromatic hybrid phase knife coronagraph , was derived from the four-quadrant phase mask principle. Methods. The instrumental setup implementing the coronagraph itself was designed to record the pre- and post-coronagraphic images simultaneously so that an efficient real-time image selection procedure can be performed. We describe the coronagraph and the associated tools that enable robust and repeatable observations. We present an algorithm of image selection that has been tested against the real on-sky data of the binary star HD 80081 (* 38 Lyn). Results. Although the observing conditions were poor, the efficiency of the proposed method is proven. From this experiment, we derive procedures that can apply to future focal instruments associating adaptive optics and coronagraphy, targeting high dynamic range imaging in astronomy, such as detecting extra-solar planets.

Nulling interferometry : Lommel's integrals applied to a Fresnel's diffraction effect

More than sixty years after the first intensity correlation experiments by Hanbury Brown and Twiss, there is renewed interest for intensity interferometry techniques for high angular resolution studies of celestial sources. We report on a successful attempt to measure the bunching peak in the intensity correlation function for bright stellar sources with 1 meter telescopes (I2C project). We propose further improvements of our preliminary experiments of spatial interferometry between two 1 m telescopes, and discuss the possibility to export our method to existing large arrays of telescopes.