Subjects: Astronomy >> Astrophysical processes submitted time 2023-02-19
Ji Wang
Jason J. Wang
Jean-Baptiste Ruffio
Geoffrey A. Blake
Dimitri Mawet
Ashley Baker
Randall Bartos
Charlotte Z. Bond
Benjamin Calvin
Sylvain Cetre
Jacques-Robert Delorme
Greg Doppmann
Daniel Echeverri
Luke Finnerty
Michael P. Fitzgerald
Nemanja Jovanovic
Ronald Lopez
Emily C. Martin
Evan Morris
Jacklyn Pezzato
Abstract： The formation and evolution pathway for the directly-imaged multi-planetary system HR 8799 remains mysterious. Accurate constraints on the chemical composition of the planetary atmosphere(s) are key to solving the mystery. We perform a detailed atmospheric retrieval on HR 8799~c to infer the chemical abundances and abundance ratios using a combination of photometric data along with low- and high-resolution spectroscopic data (R$\sim$20-35,000). We specifically retrieve [C/H], [O/H], and C/O and find them to be 0.55$^{+0.36}_{-0.39}$, 0.47$^{+0.31}_{-0.32}$, and 0.67$^{+0.12}_{-0.15}$ at 68\% confidence. The super-stellar C and O abundances, yet a stellar C/O ratio, reveal a potential formation pathway for HR 8799~c. Planet c, and likely the other gas giant planets in the system, formed early on (likely within $\sim$1 Myr), followed by further atmospheric enrichment in C and O through the accretion of solids beyond the CO iceline. The enrichment either preceded or took place during the early phase of the inward migration to the planet current locations.
Peer Review Status:
Awaiting Review
Subjects: Astronomy >> Astrophysical processes submitted time 2023-02-19
Ji Wang
Jared R. Kolecki
Jean-Baptiste Ruffio
Jason J. Wang
Dimitri Mawet
Ashley Baker
Randall Bartos
Geoffrey A. Blake
Charlotte Z. Bond
Benjamin Calvin
Sylvain Cetre
Jacques-Robert Delorme
Greg Doppmann
Daniel Echeverri
Luke Finnerty
Michael P. Fitzgerald
Nemanja Jovanovic
Michael C. Liu
Ronald Lopez
Evan Morris
Abstract： A benchmark brown dwarf (BD) is a BD whose properties (e.g., mass and chemical composition) are precisely and independently measured. Benchmark BDs are valuable in testing theoretical evolutionary tracks, spectral synthesis, and atmospheric retrievals for sub-stellar objects. Here, we report results of atmospheric retrieval on a synthetic spectrum and a benchmark BD -- HR 7672~B -- with \petit. First, we test the retrieval framework on a synthetic PHOENIX BT-Settl spectrum with a solar composition. We show that the retrieved C and O abundances are consistent with solar values, but the retrieved C/O is overestimated by 0.13-0.18, which is $\sim$4 times higher than the formal error bar. Second, we perform retrieval on HR 7672~B using high spectral resolution data (R=35,000) from the Keck Planet Imager and Characterizer (KPIC) and near infrared photometry. We retrieve [C/H], [O/H], and C/O to be $-0.24\pm0.05$, $-0.19\pm0.04$, and $0.52\pm0.02$. These values are consistent with those of HR 7672~A within 1.5-$\sigma$. As such, HR 7672~B is among only a few benchmark BDs (along with Gl 570~D and HD 3651~B) that have been demonstrated to have consistent elemental abundances with their primary stars. Our work provides a practical procedure of testing and performing atmospheric retrieval, and sheds light on potential systematics of future retrievals using high- and low-resolution data.
Peer Review Status:Awaiting Review
Subjects: Astronomy >> Astrophysical processes submitted time 2023-02-19
Daniel Echeverri
Nemanja Jovanovic
Jacques-Robert Delorme
Yinzi Xin
Tobias Schofield
Luke Finnerty
Jason J. Wang
Jerry Xuan
Dimitri Mawet
Ashley Baker
Randall Bartos
Charlotte Z. Bond
Marta L. Bryan
Benjamin Calvin
Sylvain Cetre
Greg Doppmann
Michael P. Fitzgerald
Jason Fucik
Katelyn Horstman
Ronald Lopez
Abstract： The Keck Planet Imager and Characterizer (KPIC) is a series of upgrades for the Keck II Adaptive Optics (AO) system and the NIRSPEC spectrograph to enable diffraction-limited, high-resolution ($R>30,000$) spectroscopy of exoplanets and low-mass companions in the K and L bands. Phase I consisted of single-mode fiber injection/extraction units (FIU/FEU) used in conjunction with an H-band pyramid wavefront sensor. Phase II, deployed and commissioned in 2022, adds a 1000-actuator deformable mirror, beam-shaping optics, a vortex coronagraph, and other upgrades to the FIU/FEU. The use of single-mode fibers provides a gain in stellar rejection, a substantial reduction in sky background, and an extremely stable line-spread function on the spectrograph. In this paper we present the results of extensive system-level laboratory testing and characterization showing the instrument's Phase II throughput, stability, repeatability, and other key performance metrics prior to delivery and during installation at Keck. We also demonstrate the capabilities of the various observing modes enabled by the new system modules using internal test light sources. Finally, we show preliminary results of on-sky tests performed in the first few months of Phase II commissioning along with the next steps for the instrument. Once commissioning of Phase II is complete, KPIC will continue to characterize exoplanets at an unprecedented spectral resolution, thereby growing its already successful track record of 23 detected exoplanets and brown dwarfs from Phase I. Using the new vortex fiber nulling (VFN) mode, Phase II will also be able to search for exoplanets at small angular separations less than 45 milliarcseconds which conventional coronagraphs cannot reach.
Peer Review Status:Awaiting Review
Subjects: Astronomy >> Astrophysical processes submitted time 2023-02-19
Jean-Baptiste Ruffio
Katelyn Horstman
Dimitri Mawet
Lee J. Rosenthal
Konstantin Batygin
Jason J. Wang
Maxwell Millar-Blanchaer
Ji Wang
Benjamin J. Fulton
Quinn M. Konopacky
Shubh Agrawal
Lea A. Hirsch
Andrew W. Howard
Sarah Blunt
Eric Nielsen
Ashley Baker
Randall Bartos
Charlotte Z. Bond
Benjamin Calvin
Sylvain Cetre
Abstract： The detection of satellites around extrasolar planets, so called exomoons, remains a largely unexplored territory. In this work, we study the potential of detecting these elusive objects from radial velocity monitoring of self-luminous directly imaged planets. This technique is now possible thanks to the development of dedicated instruments combining the power of high-resolution spectroscopy and high-contrast imaging. First, we demonstrate a sensitivity to satellites with a mass ratio of 1-4% at separations similar to the Galilean moons from observations of a brown-dwarf companion (HR 7672 B; Kmag=13; 0.7" separation) with the Keck Planet Imager and Characterizer (KPIC; R~35,000 in K band) at the W. M. Keck Observatory. Current instrumentation is therefore already sensitive to large unresolved satellites that could be forming from gravitational instability akin to binary star formation. Using end-to-end simulations, we then estimate that future instruments such as MODHIS, planned for the Thirty Meter Telescope, should be sensitive to satellites with mass ratios of ~1e-4. Such small moons would likely form in a circumplanetary disk similar to the Jovian satellites in the solar system. Looking for the Rossiter-McLaughlin effect could also be an interesting pathway to detecting the smallest moons on short orbital periods. Future exomoon discoveries will allow precise mass measurements of the substellar companions that they orbit and provide key insight into the formation of exoplanets. They would also help constrain the population of habitable Earth-sized moons orbiting gas giants in the habitable zone of their stars.
Peer Review Status:Awaiting Review
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