arXiv subjects

Paul Kalas

Publications and source records attributed to Paul Kalas.

At least 91 records · Page 5Linked to original sources

arXiv2014

Insights on the dynamical history of the Fomalhaut system - Investigating the Fom c hypothesis

The eccentric shape of the debris disk observed around Fomalhaut was first attributed to Fom b, a companion detected near the belt inner-edge, but new constraints on its orbit revealed that it is belt-crossing, highly eccentric $(e \sim 0.6-0.9)$, and can hardly account for the shape of the belt. The best scenario to explain this paradox is that there is another massive body in this system, Fom c, which drives the debris disk shape. The resulting planetary system is highly unstable, which hints at a dynamical scenario involving a recent scattering of Fom b on its current orbit, potentially with the putative Fom c. Our goal is to give insights on the probability for Fom b to have been set on its highly eccentric orbit by a close-encounter with the putative Fom c. We aim to study in particular the part played by mean-motion resonances with Fom c, which could have brought Fom b sufficiently close to Fom c for it to be scattered on its current orbit, but also delay this scattering event. Using N-body simulations, we found that the generation of orbits similar to that of Fom b, either in term of dimensions or orientation, is a robust process involving a scattering event and a further secular evolution of inner material with an eccentric massive body such as the putative Fom c. We found in particular that mean-motion resonances can delay scattering events, and thus the production of Fom b-like orbits, on timescales comparable to the age of the system, thus explaining the witnessing of an unstable configuration. We conclude that Fom b probably originated from an inner resonance with Fom c, which is at least Neptune-Saturn size, and was set on its current orbit by a scattering event with Fom c. Since Fom b could not have formed from material in resonance, our scenario also hints at former migration processes in this planetary system.

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arXiv2014

The First H-band Spectrum of the Massive Gas Giant Planet beta Pictoris b with the Gemini Planet Imager

Using the recently installed Gemini Planet Imager (GPI), we have taken the first H-band spectrum of the planetary companion to the nearby young star beta Pictoris. GPI is designed to image and provide low-resolution spectra of Jupiter sized, self-luminous planetary companions around young nearby stars. These observations were taken covering the H-band (1.65 microns). The spectrum has a resolving power of $\sim$ 45 and demonstrates the distinctive triangular shape of a cool substellar object with low surface gravity. Using atmospheric models, we find an effective temperature of $1650 \pm 50$ K and a surface gravity of $\log(g) = 4.0 \pm 0.25$ (cgs units). These values agree well with predictions from planetary evolution models for a gas giant with mass between 10 and 12 $M_{\rm Jup}$ and age between 10 and 20 Myrs.

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arXiv2014

Gemini Planet Imager Observational Calibrations VIII: Characterization and Role of Satellite Spots

The Gemini Planet Imager (GPI) combines extreme adaptive optics, an integral field spectrograph, and a high performance coronagraph to directly image extrasolar planets in the near-infrared. Because the coronagraph blocks most of the light from the star, it prevents the properties of the host star from being measured directly. Instead, satellite spots, which are created by diffraction from a square grid in the pupil plane, can be used to locate the star and extract its spectrum. We describe the techniques implemented into the GPI Data Reduction Pipeline to measure the properties of the satellite spots and discuss the precision of the reconstructed astrometry and spectrophotometry of the occulted star. We find the astrometric precision of the satellite spots in an $H$-band datacube to be $0.05$ pixels and is best when individual satellite spots have a signal to noise ratio (SNR) of $> 20$. In regards to satellite spot spectrophotometry, we find that the total flux from the satellite spots is stable to $\sim 7\%$ and scales linearly with central star brightness and that the shape of the satellite spot spectrum varies on the $2\%$ level.

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arXiv2014

Gemini Planet Imager Observational Calibrations V: Astrometry and Distortion

We present the results of both laboratory and on sky astrometric characterization of the Gemini Planet Imager (GPI). This characterization includes measurement of the pixel scale of the integral field spectrograph (IFS), the position of the detector with respect to north, and optical distortion. Two of these three quantities (pixel scale and distortion) were measured in the laboratory using two transparent grids of spots, one with a square pattern and the other with a random pattern. The pixel scale in the laboratory was also estimate using small movements of the artificial star unit (ASU) in the GPI adaptive optics system. On sky, the pixel scale and the north angle are determined using a number of known binary or multiple systems and Solar System objects, a subsample of which had concurrent measurements at Keck Observatory. Our current estimate of the GPI pixel scale is 14.14 $\pm$ 0.01 millarcseconds/pixel, and the north angle is -1.00 $\pm$ 0.03$°$. Distortion is shown to be small, with an average positional residual of 0.26 pixels over the field of view, and is corrected using a 5th order polynomial. We also present results from Monte Carlo simulations of the GPI Exoplanet Survey (GPIES) assuming GPI achieves ~1 milliarcsecond relative astrometric precision. We find that with this precision, we will be able to constrain the eccentricities of all detected planets, and possibly determine the underlying eccentricity distribution of widely separated Jovians.

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arXiv2013

An independent determination of Fomalhaut b's orbit and the dynamical effects on the outer dust belt

The nearby star Fomalhaut harbours a cold, moderately eccentric dust belt with a sharp inner edge near 133 au. A low-mass, common proper motion companion (Fom b), was discovered near the inner edge and was identified as a planet candidate that could account for the belt morphology. However, the most recent orbit determination based on four epochs of astrometry over eight years reveals a highly eccentric orbit that appears to cross the belt in the sky plane projection. We perform here a full orbital determination based on the available astrometric data to independently validate the orbit estimates previously presented. Adopting our values for the orbital elements and their associated uncertainties, we then study the dynamical interaction between the planet and the dust ring, to check whether the proposed disk sculpting scenario by Fom b is plausible. We used a dedicated MCMC code to derive the statistical distributions of the orbital elements of Fom b. Then we used symplectic N-body integration to investigate the dynamics of the dust belt, as perturbed by a single planet. Different attempts were made assuming different masses for Fom b. We also performed a semi-analytical study to explain our results. Our results are in good agreement with others regarding the orbit of Fom b. We find that the orbit is highly eccentric, is close to apsidally aligned with the belt, and has a moderate mutual inclination relative to the belt plane of. If coplanar, this orbit crosses the disk. Our dynamical study then reveals that the observed planet could sculpt a transient belt configuration with a similar eccentricity to what is observed, but it would not be simultaneously apsidally aligned with the planet. This transient configuration only occurs a short time after the planet is placed on such an orbit (assuming an initially circular disk), a time that is inversely proportional to the planet's mass, and that is in any case much less than the 440 Myr age of the star. We constrain how long the observed dust belt could have survived with Fom b on its current orbit, as a function of its possible mass. This analysis leads us to conclude that Fom b is likely to have low mass, that it is unlikely to be responsible for the sculpting of the belt, and that it supports the hypothesis of a more massive, less eccentric planet companion Fom c.

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arXiv2013

Modeling Self-Subtraction in Angular Differential Imaging: Application to the HD 32297 Debris Disk

We present a new technique for forward-modeling self-subtraction of spatially extended emission in observations processed with angular differential imaging (ADI) algorithms. High-contrast direct imaging of circumstellar disks is limited by quasi-static speckle noise and ADI is commonly used to suppress those speckles. However, the application of ADI can result in self-subtraction of the disk signal due to the disk's finite spatial extent. This signal attenuation varies with radial separation and biases measurements of the disk's surface brightness, thereby compromising inferences regarding the physical processes responsible for the dust distribution. To compensate for this attenuation, we forward-model the disk structure and compute the form of the self-subtraction function at each separation. As a proof of concept, we apply our method to 1.6 and 2.2 micron Keck AO NIRC2 scattered-light observations of the HD 32297 debris disk reduced using a variant of the "locally optimized combination of images" (LOCI) algorithm. We are able to recover disk surface brightness that was otherwise lost to self-subtraction and produce simplified models of the brightness distribution as it appears with and without self-subtraction. From the latter models, we extract radial profiles for the disk's brightness, width, midplane position, and color that are unbiased by self-subtraction. Our analysis of these measurements indicates a break in the brightness profile power law at r~110 AU and a disk width that increases with separation from the star. We also verify disk curvature that displaces the midplane by up to 30 AU towards the northwest relative to a straight fiducial midplane.

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arXiv2013

STIS Coronagraphic Imaging of Fomalhaut: Main Belt Structure and the Orbit of Fomalhaut b

We present new optical coronagraphic data of the bright star Fomalhaut obtained with the HST in 2010/2012 using STIS. Fomalhaut b is recovered at both epochs to high significance. The observations include the discoveries of tenuous nebulosity beyond the main dust belt detected to at least 209 AU projected radius and a ~50 AU wide azimuthal gap in the belt northward of Fom b. The morphology of Fomalhaut b appears elliptical in the STIS detections. We show that residual noise in the processed data can plausibly result in point sources appearing extended. A MCMC analysis demonstrates that the orbit of Fom b is highly eccentric, with e=0.8+/-0.1, a=177+/-68 AU, and q = 32+/-24 AU. Fom b is apsidally aligned with the belt and 90% of allowed orbits have mutual inclination 36 deg or less. Fomalhaut b's orbit is belt-crossing in projection, but only 12% of possible orbits have nodes within a 25 AU wide belt annulus (133-158 AU). The high e invokes a dynamical history where Fom b may have experienced a significant dynamical interaction with a hypothetical planet Fomalhaut c, and the current orbital configuration may be relatively short-lived. The new value for the periastron distance diminishes the Hill radius of Fom b and any weakly bound satellite system surrounding a planet would be sheared and dynamically heated at periapse. We argue that Fom b's minimum mass is that of a dwarf planet in order for a circumplanetary satellite system to remain bound to a sufficient radius from the planet to be consistent with the dust scattered light hypothesis. Fom b may be optically bright because the recent passage through periapse and/or the ascending node has increased the erosion rates of planetary satellites. In the coplanar case, Fomalhaut b will collide with the main belt around 2032, and the subsequent emergent phenomena may help determine its physical nature.

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arXiv2012

Millimeter Emission Structure in the first ALMA Image of the AU Mic Debris Disk

We present 1.3 millimeter ALMA Cycle 0 observations of the edge-on debris disk around the nearby, ~10 Myr-old, M-type star AU Mic. These observations obtain 0.6 arcsec (6 AU) resolution and reveal two distinct emission components: (1) the previously known dust belt that extends to a radius of 40 AU, and (2) a newly recognized central peak that remains unresolved. The cold dust belt of mass about 1 lunar mass is resolved in the radial direction with a rising emission profile that peaks sharply at the location of the outer edge of the "birth ring" of planetesimals hypothesized to explain the midplane scattered light gradients. No significant asymmetries are discerned in the structure or position of this dust belt. The central peak identified in the ALMA image is ~6 times brighter than the stellar photosphere, which indicates an additional emission process in the inner regions of the system. Emission from a stellar corona or activity may contribute, but the observations show no signs of temporal variations characteristic of radio-wave flares. We suggest that this central component may be dominated by dust emission from an inner planetesimal belt of mass about 0.01 lunar mass, consistent with a lack of emission shortward of 25 microns and a location <3 AU from the star. Future millimeter observations can test this assertion, as an inner dust belt should be readily separated from the central star at higher angular resolution.

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arXiv2012

Resolved Debris Discs Around A Stars in the Herschel DEBRIS Survey

The majority of debris discs discovered so far have only been detected through infrared excess emission above stellar photospheres. While disc properties can be inferred from unresolved photometry alone under various assumptions for the physical properties of dust grains, there is a degeneracy between disc radius and dust temperature that depends on the grain size distribution and optical properties. By resolving the disc we can measure the actual location of the dust. The launch of Herschel, with an angular resolution superior to previous far-infrared telescopes, allows us to spatially resolve more discs and locate the dust directly. Here we present the nine resolved discs around A stars between 20 and 40 pc observed by the DEBRIS survey. We use these data to investigate the disc radii by fitting narrow ring models to images at 70, 100 and 160 μm and by fitting blackbodies to full spectral energy distributions. We do this with the aim of finding an improved way of estimating disc radii for unresolved systems. The ratio between the resolved and blackbody radii varies between 1 and 2.5. This ratio is inversely correlated with luminosity and any remaining discrepancies are most likely explained by differences to the minimum size of grain in the size distribution or differences in composition. We find that three of the systems are well fit by a narrow ring, two systems are borderline cases and the other four likely require wider or multiple rings to fully explain the observations, reflecting the diversity of planetary systems.

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arXiv2011

Radio Interferometric Planet Search II: Constraints on sub-Jupiter-Mass Companions to GJ 896A

We present results from the Radio Interferometric Planet (RIPL) search for compan- ions to the nearby star GJ 896A. We present 11 observations over 4.9 years. Fitting astrometric parameters to the data reveals a residual with peak-to-peak amplitude of ~ 3 mas in right ascension. This residual is well-fit by an acceleration term of 0.458 \pm 0.032 mas/y^2. The parallax is fit to an accuracy of 0.2 mas and the proper motion terms are fit to accuracies of 0.01 mas/y. After fitting astrometric and acceleration terms residuals are 0.26 mas in each coordinate, demonstrating that stellar jitter does not limit the ability to carry out radio astrometric planet detection and characterization. The acceleration term originates in part from the companion GJ 896B but the amplitude of the acceleration in declination is not accurately predicted by the orbital model. The acceleration sets a mass upper limit of 0.15 MJ at a semi-major axis of 2 AU for a planetary companion to GJ 896A. For semi-major axes between 0.3 and 2 AU upper limits are determined by the maximum angular separation; the upper limits scale from the minimum value in proportion to the inverse of the radius. Upper limits at larger radii are set by the acceleration and scale as the radius squared. An improved solution for the stellar binary system could improve the exoplanet mass sensitivity by an order of magnitude.

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arXiv2010

Resolving debris discs in the far-infrared: early highlights from the DEBRIS survey

We present results from the earliest observations of DEBRIS, a Herschel Key Programme to conduct a volume- and flux-limited survey for debris discs in A-type through M-type stars. PACS images (from chop/nod or scan-mode observations) at 100 and 160 micron are presented toward two A-type stars and one F-type star: beta Leo, beta UMa and eta Corvi. All three stars are known disc hosts. Herschel spatially resolves the dust emission around all three stars (marginally, in the case of beta UMa), providing new information about discs as close as 11 pc with sizes comparable to that of the Solar System. We have combined these data with existing flux density measurements of the discs to refine the SEDs and derive estimates of the fractional luminosities, temperatures and radii of the discs.

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arXiv2009

Orbital Constraints on the beta Pic Inner Planet Candidate with Keck Adaptive Optics

A point source observed 8 AU in projection from beta Pictoris in L' (3.8 micron) imaging in 2003 has been recently presented as a planet candidate. Here we show the results of L'-band adaptive optics imaging obtained at Keck Observatory in 2008. We do not detect beta Pic b beyond a limiting radius of 0.29 arcsec, or 5.5 AU in projection, from the star. If beta Pic b is an orbiting planet, then it has moved >=0.12 arcsec (2.4 AU in projection) closer to the star in the five years separating the two epochs of observation. We examine the range of orbital parameters consistent with the observations, including likely bounds from the locations of previously inferred planetesimal belts. We find a family of low-eccentricity orbits with semimajor axes ~8-9 AU that are completely allowed, as well as a broad region of orbits with e<~0.2, a>~10 AU that are allowed if the apparent motion of the planet was towards the star in 2003. We compare this allowed space with predictions of the planetary orbital elements from the literature. Additionally, we show how similar observations in the next several years can further constrain the space of allowed orbits. Non-detections of the source through 2013 will exclude the interpretation of the candidate as a planet orbiting between the 6.4 and 16 AU planetesimal belts.

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arXiv2009

Radio Interferometric Planet Search I: First Constraints on Planetary Companions for Nearby, Low-Mass Stars from Radio Astrometry

Radio astrometry of nearby, low-mass stars has the potential to be a powerful tool for the discovery and characterization of planetary companions. We present a Very Large Array survey of 172 active M dwarfs at distances of less than 10 pc. Twenty nine stars were detected with flux densities greater than 100 microJy. We observed 7 of these stars with the Very Long Baseline Array at milliarcsecond resolution in three separate epochs. With a detection threshold of 500 microJy in images of sensitivity 1 sigma ~ 100 microJy, we detected three stars three times (GJ 65B, GJ896A, GJ 4247), one star twice (GJ 285), and one star once (GJ 803). Two stars were undetected (GJ 412B and GJ 1224). For the four stars detected in multiple epochs, residuals from the optically-determined proper motions have an rms deviation of ~0.2 milliarcseconds, consistent with statistical noise limits. Combined with previous optical astrometry, these residuals provide acceleration upper limits that allow us to exclude planetary companions more massive than 3-6 M_Jup at a distance of ~1 AU with a 99% confidence level.

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arXiv2008

Optical Images of an Exosolar Planet 25 Light Years from Earth

Fomalhaut is a bright star 7.7 parsecs (25 light years) from Earth that harbors a belt of cold dust with a structure consistent with gravitational sculpting by an orbiting planet. Here, we present optical observations of an exoplanet candidate, Fomalhaut b. In the plane of the belt, Fomalhaut b lies approximately 119 astronomical units (AU) from the star and 18 AU from the belt, matching predictions. We detect counterclockwise orbital motion using Hubble Space Telescope observations separated by 1.73 years. Dynamical models of the interaction between the planet and the belt indicate that the planet's mass is at most three times that of Jupiter for the belt to avoid gravitational disruption. The flux detected at 800 nm is also consistent with that of a planet with mass no greater than a few times that of Jupiter. The brightness at 600 nm and the lack of detection at longer wavelengths suggest that the detected flux may include starlight reflected off a circumplanetary disk, with dimension comparable to the orbits of the Galilean satellites. We also observed variability of unknown origin at 600 nm.

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arXiv2007

Discovery of an extended debris disk around the F2V star HD 15745

Using the Advanced Camera for Surveys aboard the Hubble Space Telescope, we have discovered dust-scattered light from the debris disk surrounding the F2V star HD 15745. The circumstellar disk is detected between 2.0" and 7.5" radius, corresponding to 128 - 480 AU radius. The circumstellar disk morphology is asymmetric about the star, resembling a fan, and consistent with forward scattering grains in an optically thin disk with an inclination of ~67 degrees to our line of sight. The spectral energy distribution and scattered light morphology can be approximated with a model disk composed of silicate grains between 60 and 450 AU radius, with a total dust mass of 10E-7 M_sun (0.03 M_earth) representing a narrow grain size distribution (1 - 10 micron). Galactic space motions are similar to the Castor Moving Group with an age of ~10E+8 yr, although future work is required to determine the age of HD 15745 using other indicators.

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arXiv2007

The Molecular Gas Environment around Two Herbig Ae/Be Stars: Resolving the Outflows of LkHa 198 and LkHa 225S

Observations of outflows associated with pre-main-sequence stars reveal details about morphology, binarity and evolutionary states of young stellar objects. We present molecular line data from the Berkeley-Illinois-Maryland Association array and Five Colleges Radio Astronomical Observatory toward the regions containing the Herbig Ae/Be stars LkHa 198 and LkHa 225S. Single dish observations of 12CO 1-0, 13CO 1-0, N2H+ 1-0 and CS 2-1 were made over a field of 4.3' x 4.3' for each species. 12CO data from FCRAO were combined with high resolution BIMA array data to achieve a naturally-weighted synthesized beam of 6.75'' x 5.5'' toward LkHa 198 and 5.7'' x 3.95'' toward LkHa 225S, representing resolution improvements of factors of approximately 10 and 5 over existing data. By using uniform weighting, we achieved another factor of two improvement. The outflow around LkHa 198 resolves into at least four outflows, none of which are centered on LkHa 198-IR, but even at our resolution, we cannot exclude the possibility of an outflow associated with this source. In the LkHa 225S region, we find evidence for two outflows associated with LkHa 225S itself and a third outflow is likely driven by this source. Identification of the driving sources is still resolution-limited and is also complicated by the presence of three clouds along the line of sight toward the Cygnus molecular cloud. 13CO is present in the environments of both stars along with cold, dense gas as traced by CS and (in LkHa 225S) N2H+. No 2.6 mm continuum is detected in either region in relatively shallow maps compared to existing continuum observations.

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arXiv2007

Discovery of extreme asymmetry in the debris disk surrounding HD 15115

We report the first scattered light detection of a dusty debris disk surrounding the F2V star HD 15115 using the Hubble Space Telescope in the optical, and Keck adaptive optics in the near-infrared. The most remarkable property of the HD 15115 disk relative to other debris disks is its extreme length asymmetry. The east side of the disk is detected to ~315 AU radius, whereas the west side of the disk has radius >550 AU. We find a blue optical to near-infrared scattered light color relative to the star that indicates grain scattering properties similar to the AU Mic debris disk. The existence of a large debris disk surrounding HD 15115 adds further evidence for membership in the Beta Pic moving group, which was previously argued based on kinematics alone. Here we hypothesize that the extreme disk asymmetry is due to dynamical perturbations from HIP 12545, an M star 0.5 degrees (0.38 pc) east of HD 15115 that shares a common proper motion vector, heliocentric distance, galactic space velocity, and age.

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arXiv2007

Radio Astrometric Detection and Characterization of Extra-Solar Planets: A White Paper Submitted to the NSF ExoPlanet Task Force

The extraordinary astrometric accuracy of radio interferometry creates an important and unique opportunity for the discovery and characterization of exo-planets. Currently, the Very Long Baseline Array can routinely achieve better than 100 microarcsecond accuracy, and can approach 10 microarcsecond with careful calibration. We describe here RIPL, the Radio Interferometric PLanet search, a new program with the VLBA and the Green Bank 100 m telescope that will survey 29 low-mass, active stars over 3 years with sub-Jovian planet mass sensitivity at 1 AU. An upgrade of the VLBA bandwidth will increase astrometric accuracy by an order of magnitude. Ultimately, the colossal collecting area of the Square Kilometer Array could push astrometric accuracy to 1 microarcsecond, making detection and characterizaiton of Earth mass planets possible. RIPL and other future radio astrometric planet searches occupy a unique volume in planet discovery and characterization parameter space. The parameter space of astrometric searches gives greater sensitivity to planets at large radii than radial velocity searches. For the VLBA and the expanded VLBA, the targets of radio astrometric surveys are by necessity nearby, low-mass, active stars, which cannot be studied efficiently through the radial velocity method, coronagraphy, or optical interferometry. For the SKA, detection sensitivity will extend to solar-type stars. Planets discovered through radio astrometric methods will be suitable for characterization through extreme adaptive optics. The complementarity of radio astrometric techniques with other methods demonstrates that radio astrometry can play an important role in the roadmap for exoplanet discovery and characterization.

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