arXiv subjects

F. Cantalloube

Publications and source records attributed to F. Cantalloube.

77 records · Page 5Linked to original sources

arXiv2017

GRAVITY spectro-interferometric study of the massive multiple stellar system HD 93 206 A

Characterization of the dynamics of massive star systems and the astrophysical properties of the interacting components are a prerequisite for understanding their formation and evolution. Optical interferometry at milliarcsecond resolution is a key observing technique for resolving high-mass multiple compact systems. Here we report on VLTI/GRAVITY, Magellan/FIRE, and MPG2.2m/FEROS observations of the late-O/early-B type system HD 93206 A, which is a member of the massive cluster Collinder 228 in the Carina nebula complex. With a total mass of about 90 M_sun, it is one of the most compact massive-quadruple systems known. In addition to measuring the separation and position angle of the outer binary Aa - Ac, we observe BrG and HeI variability in phase with the orbital motion of the two inner binaries. From the differential phases analysis, we conclude that the BrG emission arises from the interaction regions within the components of the individual binaries, which is consistent with previous models for the X-ray emission of the system based on wind-wind interaction. With an average 3-sigma deviation of ~15 deg, we establish an upper limit of p ~ 0.157 mas (0.35 AU) for the size of the BrG line-emitting region. Future interferometric observations with GRAVITY using the 8m UTs will allow us to constrain the line-emitting regions down to angular sizes of 20 uas (0.05 AU at the distance of the Carina nebula).

astro-ph.SR↗

arXiv2017

VIP: Vortex Image Processing package for high-contrast direct imaging

We present the Vortex Image Processing (VIP) library, a python package dedicated to astronomical high-contrast imaging. Our package relies on the extensive python stack of scientific libraries and aims to provide a flexible framework for high-contrast data and image processing. In this paper, we describe the capabilities of VIP related to processing image sequences acquired using the angular differential imaging (ADI) observing technique. VIP implements functionalities for building high-contrast data processing pipelines, encompass- ing pre- and post-processing algorithms, potential sources position and flux estimation, and sensitivity curves generation. Among the reference point-spread function subtraction techniques for ADI post-processing, VIP includes several flavors of principal component analysis (PCA) based algorithms, such as annular PCA and incremental PCA algorithm capable of processing big datacubes (of several gigabytes) on a computer with limited memory. Also, we present a novel ADI algorithm based on non-negative matrix factorization (NMF), which comes from the same family of low-rank matrix approximations as PCA and provides fairly similar results. We showcase the ADI capabilities of the VIP library using a deep sequence on HR8799 taken with the LBTI/LMIRCam and its recently commissioned L-band vortex coronagraph. Using VIP we investigated the presence of additional companions around HR8799 and did not find any significant additional point source beyond the four known planets. VIP is available at http://github.com/vortex-exoplanet/VIP and is accompanied with Jupyter notebook tutorials illustrating the main functionalities of the library.

astro-ph.IM↗

arXiv2017

Spectral and atmospheric characterization of 51 Eridani b using VLT/SPHERE

51 Eridani b is an exoplanet around a young (20 Myr) nearby (29.4 pc) F0-type star, recently discovered by direct imaging. Being only 0.5" away from its host star it is well suited for spectroscopic analysis using integral field spectrographs. We aim to refine the atmospheric properties of this and to further constrain the architecture of the system by searching for additional companions. Using the SPHERE instrument at the VLT we extend the spectral coverage of the planet to the complete Y- to H-band range and provide photometry in the K12-bands (2.11, 2.25 micron). The object is compared to other cool and peculiar dwarfs. Furthermore, the posterior probability distributions of cloudy and clear atmospheric models are explored using MCMC. We verified our methods by determining atmospheric parameters for the two benchmark brown dwarfs Gl 570D and HD 3651B. For probing the innermost region for additional companions, archival VLT-NACO (L') SAM data is used. We present the first spectrophotometric measurements in the Y- and K-bands for the planet and revise its J-band flux to values 40% fainter than previous measurements. Cloudy models with uniform cloud coverage provide a good match to the data. We derive the temperature, radius, surface gravity, metallicity and cloud sedimentation parameter f_sed. We find that the atmosphere is highly super-solar (Fe/H~1.0) with an extended, thick cloud cover of small particles. The model radius and surface gravity suggest planetary masses of about 9 M_jup. The evolutionary model only provides a lower mass limit of >2 M_jup (for pure hot-start). The cold-start model cannot explain the planet's luminosity. The SPHERE and NACO/SAM detection limits probe the 51 Eri system at Solar System scales and exclude brown-dwarf companions more massive than 20 M_jup beyond separations of ~2.5 au and giant planets more massive than 2 M_jup beyond 9 au.

astro-ph.EP↗

arXiv2015

First light of the VLT planet finder SPHERE. IV. Physical and chemical properties of the planets around HR8799

The system of four planets around HR8799 offers a unique opportunity to probe the physics and chemistry at play in the atmospheres of self-luminous young (~30 Myr) planets. We recently obtained new photometry of the four planets and low-resolution (R~30) spectra of HR8799 d and e with the SPHERE instrument (paper III). In this paper (paper IV), we compare the available spectra and photometry of the planets to known objects and atmospheric models (BT-SETTL14, Cloud-AE60, Exo-REM) to characterize the atmospheric properties of the planets. We find that HR8799d and e properties are well reproduced by those of L6-L8 dusty dwarfs discovered in the field, among which some are candidate members of young nearby associations. No known object reproduces well the properties of planets b and c. Nevertheless, we find that the spectra and WISE photometry of peculiar and/or young early-T dwarfs reddened by submicron grains made of corundum, iron, enstatite, or forsterite successfully reproduce the SED of these two planets. Our analysis confirms that only the Exo-REM models with thick clouds fit (within 2σ) the whole set of spectrophotometric datapoints available for HR8799 d and e for Teff = 1200 K, log g in the range 3.0-4.5, and M/H=+0.5. The models still fail to reproduce the SED of HR8799c and b. The determination of the metallicity, log g, and cloud thickness are degenerate. We conclude that an enhanced content in dust and decreased CIA of H2 is certainly responsible for the deviation of the properties of the planet with respect to field dwarfs. The analysis suggests in addition that HR8799c and b have later spectral types than the two other planets, and therefore could both have lower masses.

astro-ph.EP↗

arXiv2015

Direct exoplanet detection and characterization using the ANDROMEDA method: Performance on VLT/NaCo data

Context. The direct detection of exoplanets with high-contrast imaging requires advanced data processing methods to disentangle potential planetary signals from bright quasi-static speckles. Among them, angular differential imaging (ADI) permits potential planetary signals with a known rotation rate to be separated from instrumental speckles that are either statics or slowly variable. The method presented in this paper, called ANDROMEDA for ANgular Differential OptiMal Exoplanet Detection Algorithm is based on a maximum likelihood approach to ADI and is used to estimate the position and the flux of any point source present in the field of view. Aims. In order to optimize and experimentally validate this previously proposed method, we applied ANDROMEDA to real VLT/NaCo data. In addition to its pure detection capability, we investigated the possibility of defining simple and efficient criteria for automatic point source extraction able to support the processing of large surveys. Methods. To assess the performance of the method, we applied ANDROMEDA on VLT/NaCo data of TYC-8979-1683-1 which is surrounded by numerous bright stars and on which we added synthetic planets of known position and flux in the field. In order to accommodate the real data properties, it was necessary to develop additional pre-processing and post-processing steps to the initially proposed algorithm. We then investigated its skill in the challenging case of a well-known target, $β$ Pictoris, whose companion is close to the detection limit and we compared our results to those obtained by another method based on principal component analysis (PCA). Results. Application on VLT/NaCo data demonstrates the ability of ANDROMEDA to automatically detect and characterize point sources present in the image field. We end up with a robust method bringing consistent results with a sensitivity similar to the recently published algorithms, with only two parameters to be fine tuned. Moreover, the companion flux estimates are not biased by the algorithm parameters and do not require a posteriori corrections. Conclusions. ANDROMEDA is an attractive alternative to current standard image processing methods that can be readily applied to on-sky data.

astro-ph.IM↗