The Gemini Planet Imager initial performance and data analysis - James G...
Δημοσιεύτηκε στις 1 Ιουλ 2014
The Gemini Planet Imager (GPI) is a
dedicated facility for directly imaging and spectroscopically
characterizing extrasolar planets. It combines a very high-order
adaptive optics system, a diffraction-suppressing coronagraph, and an
integral field spectrograph with low spectral resolution but high
spatial resolution. GPI has been tuned for maximum sensitivity to faint
planets near bright stars. During first light observations, we achieved
an estimated H band Strehl ratio of 0.89 and a 5-sigma contrast of 106
at 0.75 arcseconds and 105 at 0.35 arcseconds. Observations of Beta
Pictoris clearly detect the planet, Beta Pictoris b, in a single
60-second exposure with minimal post-processing. Fitting the Keplerian
orbit of Beta Pic b using the new position together with previous
astrometry gives a factor of three improvement in most parameters over
previous solutions. The planet orbits at a semi-major axis of
9.0{+0.8}_{-0.4}AU near the 3:2 resonance with the previously-known 6 AU
asteroidal belt and is aligned with the inner warped disk. The
observations give a 4% posterior probability of a transit of the planet
in late 2017.
dedicated facility for directly imaging and spectroscopically
characterizing extrasolar planets. It combines a very high-order
adaptive optics system, a diffraction-suppressing coronagraph, and an
integral field spectrograph with low spectral resolution but high
spatial resolution. GPI has been tuned for maximum sensitivity to faint
planets near bright stars. During first light observations, we achieved
an estimated H band Strehl ratio of 0.89 and a 5-sigma contrast of 106
at 0.75 arcseconds and 105 at 0.35 arcseconds. Observations of Beta
Pictoris clearly detect the planet, Beta Pictoris b, in a single
60-second exposure with minimal post-processing. Fitting the Keplerian
orbit of Beta Pic b using the new position together with previous
astrometry gives a factor of three improvement in most parameters over
previous solutions. The planet orbits at a semi-major axis of
9.0{+0.8}_{-0.4}AU near the 3:2 resonance with the previously-known 6 AU
asteroidal belt and is aligned with the inner warped disk. The
observations give a 4% posterior probability of a transit of the planet
in late 2017.
