Near-Infrared Detection and Characterization of the Exoplanet HD 95086 b with the Gemini Planet Imager

HD 95086 is an intermediate-mass debris-disk-bearing star. VLT/NaCo $3.8 mu m$ observations revealed it hosts a $5pm2 mathrm{M}_{Jup}$ companion (HD 95086 b) at $simeq 56$ AU. Follow-up observations at 1.66 and 2.18 $mu m$ 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- ($1.7 mu m$) and $mathrm{K}_1$- ($2.05 mu m$) 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= $3.6pm 1.0$ mag and K$_1$-L=$2.4pm 0.7$ mag, consistent with previously reported 5-$sigma$ 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=$5pm2$ 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.

Multi-stage four-quadrant phase mask: achromatic coronagraph for space-based and ground-based telescopes

Less than 3% of the known exoplanets were directly imaged for two main reasons. They are angularly very close to their parent star, which is several magnitudes brighter. Direct imaging of exoplanets thus requires a dedicated instrumentation with large telescopes and accurate wavefront control devices for high-angular resolution and coronagraphs for attenuating the stellar light. Coronagraphs are usually chromatic and they cannot perform high-contrast imaging over a wide spectral bandwidth. That chromaticity will be critical for future instruments. Enlarging the coronagraph spectral range is a challenge for future exoplanet imaging instruments on both space-based and ground-based telescopes. We propose the multi-stage four-quadrant phase mask that associates several monochromatic four-quadrant phase mask coronagraphs in series. Monochromatic device performance has already been demonstrated and the manufacturing procedures are well-under control since their development for previous instruments on VLT and JWST. The multi-stage implementation simplicity is thus appealing. We present the instrument principle and we describe the laboratory performance for large spectral bandwidths and for both pupil shapes for space- (off-axis telescope) and ground-based (E-ELT) telescopes. The multi-stage four-quadrant phase mask reduces the stellar flux over a wide spectral range (30%) and it is a very good candidate to be associated with a spectrometer for future exoplanet imaging instruments in ground- and space-based observatories.

Wavefront error correction and Earth-like planet detection by Self-Coherent Camera in space

In the context of exoplanet detection, the performance of coronagraphs is limited by wavefront errors. To efficiently correct for these aberrations with a deformable mirror, it is mandatory to measure them using the science detector with a very high accuracy. The Self-Coherent Camera which is based on light incoherence between star and its environment enables an estimation of these wavefront errors. That estimation is directly derived from the encoded speckles in the science image. This avoids differential errors due to beam separation and non common optics. Earth-like planet detection is demonstrated by numerical simulations under realistic assumptions for a space telescope. The Self-Coherent Camera is an attractive technique for future space telescopes. It is also one of the techniques under investigation for the E-ELT planet finder so-called EPICS.

Expected Performance of a Self-Coherent Camera

Residual wavefront errors in optical elements limit the performance of coronagraphs. To improve their efficiency, different types of devices have been proposed to correct or calibrate these errors. In this paper, we study one of these techniques proposed by Baudoz et al. 2006 and called Self-Coherent Camera (SCC). The principle of this instrument is based on the lack of coherence between the stellar light and the planet that is searched for. After recalling the principle of the SCC, we simulate its performance under realistic conditions and compare it with the performance of differential imaging.