HD 95086 is an intermediate-mass debris-disk-bearing star. VLT/NaCo $3.8 μm$ observations revealed it hosts a $5\pm2 \mathrm{M}_{Jup}$ companion (HD 95086 b) at $\simeq 56$ AU. Follow-up observations at 1.66 and 2.18 $μm$ yielded a null detection, suggesting extremely red colors for the planet and the need for deeper direct-imaging data. In this Letter, we report H- ($1.7 μm$) and $\mathrm{K}_1$- ($2.05 μm$) band detections of HD 95086 b from Gemini Planet Imager (GPI) commissioning observations taken by the GPI team. The planet position in both spectral channels is consistent with the NaCo measurements and we confirm it to be comoving. Our photometry yields colors of H-L'= $3.6\pm 1.0$ mag and K$_1$-L'=$2.4\pm 0.7$ mag, consistent with previously reported 5-$σ$ upper limits in H and Ks. The photometry of HD 95086 b best matches that of 2M 1207 b and HR 8799 cde. Comparing its spectral energy distribution with the BT-SETTL and LESIA planet atmospheric models yields T$_{\mathrm{eff}}\sim$600-1500 K and log g$\sim$2.1-4.5. Hot-start evolutionary models yield M=$5\pm2$ M$_{Jup}$. Warm-start models reproduce the combined absolute fluxes of the object for M=4-14 M$_{Jup}$ for a wide range of plausible initial conditions (S$_{init}$=8-13 k$_{B}$/baryon). The color-magnitude diagram location of HD 95086 b and its estimated T$_{\mathrm{eff}}$ and log g suggest that the planet is a peculiar L-T transition object with an enhanced amount of photospheric dust.
The majority of stars have one or more stellar companions. As exoplanets continue to be discovered, it is crucial to examine planetary systems to identify their stellar companions. By observing a change in proper motion, companions can be detected by the acceleration they induce on their host stars. We selected 701 stars from the Hipparcos-Gaia Catalog of Accelerations (HGCA) that have existing adaptive optics imaging data gathered with Gemini/NIRI. Of these, we examined 21 stars known to host planet candidates and reduced their archival NIRI data with Gemini's DRAGONS software. We assessed th…
HD 100546 is a young, early-type star and key laboratory for studying gas giant planet formation. GPI data taken in 2015 and reported by Currie et al. (2015) recover the previously-identified protoplanet candidate HD 100546 b and identify a second emission source at ~13--14 au: either a disk hot spot or a second protoplanetary candidate (HD 100546 "c"). In this short research note, we update the status of HD 100546 as observed by the Gemini Planet Imager by rereducing our original data using a different PSF subtraction method (KLIP instead of A-LOCI), rereducing recently public GPI Campaign Te…
We present Gemini Planet Imager (GPI) adaptive optics near-infrared images of the giant planet-forming regions of the protoplanetary disk orbiting the nearby (D = 54 pc), pre-main sequence (classical T Tauri) star TW Hydrae. The GPI images, which were obtained in coronagraphic/polarimetric mode, exploit starlight scattered off small dust grains to elucidate the surface density structure of the TW Hya disk from 80 AU to within 10 AU of the star at 1.5 AU resolution. The GPI polarized intensity images unambiguously confirm the presence of a gap in the radial surface brightness distribution of th…
We present the complete sample of protoplanetary disks from the Gemini- Large Imaging with GPI Herbig/T-tauri Survey (Gemini-LIGHTS) which observed bright Herbig Ae/Be stars and T-Tauri stars in near-infrared polarized light to search for signatures of disk evolution and ongoing planet formation. The 44 targets were chosen based on their near- and mid-infrared colors, with roughly equal numbers of transitional, pre-transitional, and full disks. Our approach explicitly did not favor well-known, "famous" disks or those observed by ALMA, resulting in a less-biased sample suitable to probe the maj…
We present the design of a novel instrument tuned to detect transiting exoplanet atmospheres. The instrument, which we call the exoplanet transmission spectroscopy imager (ETSI), makes use of a new technique called common-path multi-band imaging (CMI). ETSI uses a prism and multi-band filter to simultaneously image 15 spectral bandpasses on two detectors from $430-975nm$ (with a average spectral resolution of $R = λ/Δλ= 23$) during exoplanet transits of a bright star. A prototype of the instrument achieved photon-noise limited results which were below the atmospheric amplitude scintillation no…
In order to look for signs of on-going planet formation in young disks, we carried out the first J-band polarized emission imaging of the Herbig Ae/Be stars HD 150193, HD 163296, and HD 169142 using the Gemini Planet Imager (GPI), along with new H band observations of HD 144432. We confirm the complex "double ring" structure for the nearly face-on system HD 169142 first seen in H-band, finding the outer ring to be substantially redder than the inner one in polarized intensity. Using radiative transfer modeling, we developed a physical model that explains the full spectral energy distribution (…
We model the detectability of exoplanets around stars in the Beta Pic Moving Group (BPMG) using the Gemini Planet Imager (GPI), a coronagraphic instrument designed to detect companions by imaging. Members of the BPMG are considered promising targets for exoplanet searches because of their youth (~12 MY) and proximity (median distance ~35 pc). We wrote a modeling procedure to generate hypothetical companions of given mass, age, eccentricity, and semi-major axis, and place them around BPMG members that fall within the V-band range of the GPI. We count as possible detections companions lying with…
When giant planets form, they grow by accreting gas and dust. HD 142527 is a young star that offers a scaled-up view of this process. It has a broad, asymmetric ring of gas and dust beyond \about 100 AU and a wide inner gap. Within the gap, a low-mass stellar companion orbits the primary star at just \about 12 AU, and both the primary and secondary are accreting gas. In an attempt to directly detect the dusty counterpart to this accreted gas, we have observed HD 142527 with the Gemini Planet Imager in polarized light at $Y$ band (0.95-1.14 \microns). We clearly detect the companion in total in…
We present new $H$-band scattered light images of the HD 32297 edge-on debris disk obtained with the Gemini Planet Imager (GPI). The disk is detected in total and polarized intensity down to a projected angular separation of 0.15", or 20au. On the other hand, the large scale swept-back halo remains undetected, likely a consequence of its markedly blue color relative to the parent body belt. We analyze the curvature of the disk spine and estimate a radius of $\approx$100au for the parent body belt, smaller than past scattered light studies but consistent with thermal emission maps of the system…
We report Gemini Planet Imager H band high-contrast imaging/integral field spectroscopy and polarimetry of the HD 100546, a 10 $Myr$-old early-type star recently confirmed to host a thermal infrared bright (super)jovian protoplanet at wide separation, HD 100546 b. We resolve the inner disk cavity in polarized light, recover the thermal-infrared (IR) bright arm, and identify one additional spiral arm. We easily recover HD 100546 b and show that much of its emission originates an unresolved, point source. HD 100546 b likely has extremely red infrared colors compared to field brown dwarfs, qualit…
DUET: Design of a simultaneous InGaAs--CCD split-beam imager for ultra-cool dwarf exoplanet transit survey
ETH Zürich（苏黎世联邦理工学院）；Cavendish Laboratory, University of Cambridge（剑桥大学卡文迪许实验室）；Astrobiology Research Unit, Université de Liège（列日大学天体生物学研究单元）；School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Birmingham（伯明翰大学物理与天文学院）
We present new observations of the planet beta Pictoris b from 2018 with GPI, the first GPI observations following conjunction. Based on these new measurements, we perform a joint orbit fit to the available relative astrometry from ground-based imaging, the Hipparcos Intermediate Astrometric Data (IAD), and the Gaia DR2 position, and demonstrate how to incorporate the IAD into direct imaging orbit fits. We find a mass consistent with predictions of hot-start evolutionary models and previous works following similar methods, though with larger uncertainties: 12.8 [+5.3, -3.2] M_Jup. Our eccentri…
We present optimal survey strategies for the upcoming NIX imager, part of the ERIS instrument to be installed on the Very Large Telescope (VLT). We will use a custom 2.2 micron K-peak filter to optimise the efficiency of a future large-scale direct imaging survey, aiming to detect brown dwarfs and giant planets around nearby stars. We use the results of previous large scale imaging surveys (primarily SPHERE SHINE and Gemini GPIES) to inform our choice of targets, as well as improved planet population distributions. We present four possible approaches to optimise survey target lists for the hig…
We present new near-infrared Gemini Planet Imager (GPI) spectroscopy of HD 206893 B, a substellar companion orbiting within the debris disk of its F5V star. The $J$, $H$, $K1$, and $K2$ spectra from GPI demonstrate the extraordinarily red colors of the object, confirming it as the reddest substellar object observed to date. The significant flux increase throughout the infrared presents a challenging atmosphere to model with existing grids. Best-fit values vary from 1200 K to 1800 K for effective temperature and from 3.0 to 5.0 for log($g$), depending on which individual wavelength band is fit …
A Uniform Analysis of Debris Disks with the Gemini Planet Imager II: Constraints on Dust Density Distribution Using Empirically-Informed Scattering Phase Functions
We present the first spatially resolved scattered-light images of four debris disks around members of the Scorpius-Centaurus (Sco-Cen) OB Association with high-contrast imaging and polarimetry using the Gemini Planet Imager (GPI). All four disks are resolved for the first time in polarized light and one disk is also detected in total intensity. The three disks imaged around HD 111161, HD 143675, and HD 145560 are symmetric in both morphology and brightness distribution. The three systems span a range of inclinations and radial extents. The disk imaged around HD 98363 shows indications of asymm…
The Solar TErrestrial RElations Observatory - \emph{STEREO}, is a system of two identical spacecraft in Heliocentric Earth orbit. We use the two Heliospheric Imagers (HI), which are wide angle imagers with multi-baffle systems to do high precision stellar photometry in order to search for exoplanetary transits and understand stellar variables. The large cadence (40 min for HI-1 and 2 hrs for HI-2), high precision, wide magnitude range (\emph{R} mag - 4 to 12) and broad sky coverage (nearly 20 percent just for HI-1A and 60 per cent of the sky in the zodiacal region for all the instruments combi…
We present new spatially resolved astrometry and photometry from the Gemini Planet Imager of the inner binary of the young multiple star system V343 Normae, which is a member of the beta Pictoris moving group. V343 Normae comprises a K0 and mid-M star in a ~4.5 year orbit (AaAb) and a wide 10" M5 companion (B). By combining these data with archival astrometry and radial velocities we fit the orbit and measure individual masses for both components of M_Aa = 1.10 +/- 0.10 M_sun and M_Ab = 0.290 +/- 0.018 M_sun. Comparing to theoretical isochrones, we find good agreement for the measured masses a…
HR4796A hosts a well-studied debris disk with a long history due to its high fractional luminosity and favorable inclination lending itself well to both unresolved and resolved observations. We present new J- and K1-band images of the resolved debris disk HR4796A taken in the polarimetric mode of the Gemini Planet Imager (GPI). The polarized intensity features a strongly forward scattered brightness distribution and is undetected at the far side of the disk. The total intensity is detected at all scattering angles and also exhibits a strong forward scattering peak. We use a forward modelled ge…
We report the results of a ${\sim}4$-year direct imaging survey of 104 stars to resolve and characterize circumstellar debris disks in scattered light as part of the Gemini Planet Imager Exoplanet Survey. We targeted nearby (${\lesssim}150$ pc), young (${\lesssim}500$ Myr) stars with high infrared excesses ($L_{\mathrm{IR}} / L_\star > 10^{-5}$), including 38 with previously resolved disks. Observations were made using the Gemini Planet Imager high-contrast integral field spectrograph in $H$-band (1.6 $μ$m) coronagraphic polarimetry mode to measure both polarized and total intensities. We reso…
We report results from the Wide-orbit Exoplanet search with InfraRed Direct imaging (WEIRD), a survey designed to search for Jupiter-like companions on very wide orbits (1000 to 5000 AU) around young stars ($<$120 Myr) that are known members of moving groups in the solar neighborhood ($<$70 pc). Sharing the same age, distance, and metallicity as their host while being on large enough orbits to be studied as "isolated" objects make such companions prime targets for spectroscopic observations and valuable benchmark objects for exoplanet atmosphere models. The search strategy is based on deep ima…
We present results of a high angular resolution survey of massive OB stars in the Cygnus OB2 association that we conducted with the NIRI camera and ALTAIR adaptive optics system of the Gemini North telescope. We observed 74 O- and early B-type stars in Cyg OB2 in the $JHK$ infrared bands in order to detect binary and multiple companions. The observations are sensitive to equal-brightness pairs at separations as small as 0.08 \arcsec, and progressively fainter companions are detectable out to $Δ$ K = 9 mag at a separation of 2 arcsec. This faint contrast limit due to readnoise continues out to …
Using the known detection limits for high-resolution imaging observations and the statistical properties of true binary and line-of-sight companions, we estimate the binary fraction of {\it Kepler} exoplanet host stars. Our speckle imaging programs at the WIYN 3.5-m and Gemini North 8.1-m telescopes have observed over 600 {\it Kepler} objects of interest (KOIs) and detected 49 stellar companions within $\sim$1 arcsecond. Assuming binary stars follow a log-normal period distribution for an effective temperature range of 3,000 to 10,000 K, then the model predicts that the vast majority of detect…
Transmission spectra of exoplanets orbiting active stars suffer from wavelength-dependent effects due to stellar photospheric heterogeneity. WASP-19b, an ultra-hot Jupiter (T$_{eq}$ $\sim$ 2100 K), is one such strongly irradiated gas-giant orbiting an active solar-type star. We present optical (520-900 nm) transmission spectra of WASP-19b obtained across eight epochs using the Gemini Multi-Object Spectrograph (GMOS) on the Gemini-South telescope. We apply our recently developed Gaussian Processes regression based method to model the transit light curve systematics and extract the transmission …
We present high angular resolution imaging observations of 517 host stars of TESS exoplanet candidates using the `Alopeke and Zorro speckle cameras at Gemini North and South. The sample consists mainly of bright F, G, K stars at distances of less than 500 pc. Our speckle observations span angular resolutions of ~20 mas out to 1.2 arcsec, yielding spatial resolutions of <10 to 500 AU for most stars, and our contrast limits can detect companion stars 5-9 magnitudes fainter than the primary at optical wavelengths. We detect 102 close stellar companions and determine the separation, magnitude diff…
We discuss two multiple star systems that host known exoplanets: HD 2638 and 30 Ari B. Adaptive optics imagery revealed an additional stellar companion to both stars. We collected multi-epoch images of the systems with Robo-AO and the PALM-3000 adaptive optics systems at Palomar Observatory and provide relative photometry and astrometry. The astrometry indicates that the companions share common proper motion with their respective primaries. Both of the new companions have projected separations less than 30 AU from the exoplanet host star. Using the projected separations to compute orbital peri…
Our team is carrying out a multi-year observing program to directly image and characterize young extrasolar planets using the Near-Infrared Coronagraphic Imager (NICI) on the Gemini-South 8.1-meter telescope. NICI is the first instrument on a large telescope designed from the outset for high-contrast imaging, comprising a high-performance curvature adaptive optics system with a simultaneous dual-channel coronagraphic imager. Combined with state-of-the-art observing methods and data processing, NICI typically achieves ~2 magnitudes better contrast compared to previous ground-based or space-base…
HD 177830 is an evolved K0IV star with two known exoplanets. In addition to the planetary companions it has a late-type stellar companion discovered with adaptive optics imagery. We observed the binary star system with the PHARO near-IR camera and the Project 1640 coronagraph. Using the Project 1640 coronagraph and integral field spectrograph we extracted a spectrum of the stellar companion. This allowed us to determine that the spectral type of the stellar companion is a M4$\pm$1V. We used both instruments to measure the astrometry of the binary system. Combining these data with published dat…
The vast majority of extrasolar planets are detected by indirect detection methods such as transit monitoring and radial velocity measurements. While these methods are very successful in detecting short-periodic planets, they are mostly blind to wide sub-stellar or even stellar companions on long orbits. In our study we present high resolution imaging observations of 63 exoplanet hosts carried out with the lucky imaging instrument AstraLux at the Calar Alto 2.2m telescope as well as with the new SPHERE high resolution adaptive optics imager at the ESO/VLT in the case of a known companion of sp…
Dusty debris disks around pre- and main-sequence stars are potential signposts for the existence of planetesimals and exoplanets. Giant planet formation is therefore expected to play a key role in the evolution of the disk. This is indirectly confirmed by extant sub-millimeter near-infrared images of young protoplanetary and cool dusty debris disks around main sequence stars usually showing substantial spatial structures. A majority of recent discoveries of imaged giant planets have been obtained around young, early-type stars hosting a circumstellar disk. In this context, we have carried out …
The Roasting Marshmallows Program with IGRINS on Gemini South III: Seeing deeper into the metal depleted atmosphere of a gas-giant on the cusp of the hot to ultra-hot Jupiter transition
The Exoplanet Euclid Legacy Survey (ExELS) proposes to determine the frequency of cold exoplanets down to Earth mass from host separations of ~1 AU out to the free-floating regime by detecting microlensing events in Galactic Bulge. We show that ExELS can also detect large numbers of hot, transiting exoplanets in the same population. The combined microlensing+transit survey would allow the first self-consistent estimate of the relative frequencies of hot and cold sub-stellar companions, reducing biases in comparing "near-field" radial velocity and transiting exoplanets with "far-field" microlen…
We are studying the influence of stellar multiplicity on exoplanet systems, in particular systems that have been detected via radial-velocity searches. We are in particular interested in the closest companions as they would have a strong influence on the evolution of the original planet forming disks. In this study we present new companions detected during our ongoing survey of exoplanet hosts with VLT/SPHERE. We are using the extreme adaptive optics imager SPHERE at the ESO/VLT to search for faint (sub)stellar companions. We utilized the classical coronagraphic imaging mode to perform a snaps…
WD 1856+534 b is a Jupiter-sized, cool giant planet candidate transiting the white dwarf WD 1856+534. Here, we report an optical transmission spectrum of WD 1856+534 b obtained from ten transits using the Gemini Multi-Object Spectrograph. This system is challenging to observe due to the faintness of the host star and the short transit duration. Nevertheless, our phase-folded white light curve reached a precision of 0.12 %. WD 1856+534 b provides a unique transit configuration compared to other known exoplanets: the planet is $8\times$ larger than its star and occults over half of the stellar d…
