Abstract
Despite rapidly growing disk observations, it remains a mystery what primordial dust aggregates look like and what the physical and chemical properties of their constituent grains (monomers) ...are in young planet-forming disks. Confrontation of models with observations to answer this mystery has been a notorious task because we have to abandon a commonly used assumption, perfectly spherical grains, and take into account particles with complex morphology. In this Letter, we present the first thorough comparison between near-infrared scattered light of the young planet-forming disk around IM Lup and the light-scattering properties of complex-shaped dust particles. The availability of scattering observations at multiple wavelengths and over a significant range of scattering angles allows for the first determination of the monomer size, fractal dimension, and size of dust aggregates in a planet-forming disk. We show that the observations are best explained by fractal aggregates with a fractal dimension of 1.5 and a characteristic radius larger than ∼2
μ
m. We also determined the radius of the monomer to be ∼200 nm, and monomers much smaller than this size can be ruled out on the premise that the fractal dimension is less than 2. Furthermore, dust composition comprising amorphous carbon is found to be favorable to simultaneously account for the faint scattered light and the flared disk morphology. Our results support that planet formation begins with fractal coagulation of submicron-sized grains. All the optical properties of complex dust particles computed in this study are publicly available.
Abstract
Dust particles are the building blocks from which planetary bodies are made. A major goal of studies of planet-forming disks is to constrain the properties of dust particles and aggregates ...in order to trace their origin, structure, and the associated growth and mixing processes in the disk. Observations of the scattering and/or emission of dust in a location of the disk often lead to degenerate information about the kinds of particles involved, such as the size, porosity, or fractal dimensions of aggregates. Progress can be made by deriving the full (polarizing) scattering phase function of such particles at multiple wavelengths. This has now become possible by careful extraction from scattered light images. Such an extraction requires knowledge about the shape of the scattering surface in the disk, and we discuss how to obtain such knowledge as well as the associated uncertainties. We use a sample of disk images from observations with the Very Large Telescope/SPHERE to, for the first time, extract the phase functions of a whole sample of disks with broad phase-angle coverage. We find that polarized phase functions come in two categories. Comparing the extracted functions with theoretical predictions from rigorous T-Matrix computations of aggregates, we show that one category can be linked back to fractal, porous aggregates, while the other is consistent with more compact, less porous aggregates. We speculate that the more compact particles become visible in disks where embedded planets trigger enhanced vertical mixing.
Abstract
Even though tens of directly imaged companions have been discovered in the past decades, the number of directly confirmed multiplanet systems is still small. Dynamical analysis of these ...systems imposes important constraints on formation mechanisms of these wide-orbit companions. As part of the Young Suns Exoplanet Survey we report the detection of a second planetary-mass companion around the 17 Myr-old, solar-type star TYC 8998-760-1 that is located in the Lower Centaurus Crux subgroup of the Scorpius–Centaurus association. The companion has a projected physical separation of 320 au and several individual photometric measurements from 1.1 to 3.8 microns constrain a companion mass of 6 ± 1
M
Jup
, which is equivalent to a mass ratio of
q
= 0.57 ± 0.10% with respect to the primary. With the previously detected 14 ± 3
M
Jup
companion that is orbiting the primary at 160 au, TYC 8998-760-1 is the first directly imaged multiplanet system that is detected around a young, solar analog. We show that circular orbits are stable, but that mildly eccentric orbits for either/both components (
e
> 0.1) are chaotic on gigayear timescales, implying in situ formation or a very specific ejection by an unseen third companion. Due to the wide separations of the companions TYC 8998-760-1 is an excellent system for spectroscopic and photometric follow-up with space-based observatories such as the James Webb Space Telescope.
The spin of a planet or brown dwarf is related to the accretion process, and therefore studying spin can help promote our understanding of the formation of such objects. We present the projected ...rotational velocity of the young substellar companion GQ Lupi b, along with its barycentric radial velocity. The directly imaged exoplanet or brown dwarf companion joins a small but growing ensemble of wide-orbit, substellar companions with a spin measurement. The GQ Lupi system was observed at high spectral resolution (R ~ 100 000), and in the analysis we made use of both spectral and spatial filtering to separate the signal of the companion from that of the host star. We detect both CO (S/N = 11.6) and H2O (S/N = 7.7) in the atmosphere of GQ Lupi b by cross-correlating with model spectra, and we find it to be a slow rotator with a projected rotational velocity of 5.3+0.9-1.0 km s-1. The slow rotation is most likely due to its young age of <5 Myr, as it is still in the process of accreting material and angular momentum. We measure the barycentric radial velocity of GQ Lupi b to be 2.0 ± 0.4 km s-1, and discuss the allowed orbital configurations and their implications for formation scenarios for GQ Lupi b.
Abstract
Gas-rich circumstellar disks are the cradles of planet formation. As such, their evolution will strongly influence the resulting planet population. In the ESO DESTINYS large program, we ...study these disks within the first 10 Myr of their development with near-infrared scattered-light imaging. Here we present VLT/SPHERE polarimetric observations of the nearby class II system SU Aur in which we resolve the disk down to scales of ∼7 au. In addition to the new SPHERE observations, we utilize VLT/NACO, HST/STIS, and ALMA archival data. The new SPHERE data show the disk around SU Aur and extended dust structures in unprecedented detail. We resolve several dust tails connected to the Keplerian disk. By comparison with ALMA data, we show that these dust tails represent material falling onto the disk. The disk itself shows an intricate spiral structure and a shadow lane, cast by an inner, misaligned disk component. Our observations suggest that SU Aur is undergoing late infall of material, which can explain the observed disk structures. SU Aur is the clearest observational example of this mechanism at work and demonstrates that late accretion events can still occur in the class II phase, thereby significantly affecting the evolution of circumstellar disks. Constraining the frequency of such events with additional observations will help determine whether this process is responsible for the spin–orbit misalignment in evolved exoplanet systems.
ABSTRACT
RZ Psc is a young Sun-like star with a bright and warm infrared excess that is occasionally dimmed significantly by circumstellar dust structures. Optical depth arguments suggest that the ...dimming events do not probe a typical sightline through the circumstellar dust, and are instead caused by structures that appear above an optically thick mid-plane. This system may therefore be similar to systems where an outer disc is shadowed by material closer to the star. Here, we report the discovery that RZ Psc hosts a $0.12\, \mathrm{ M}_\odot$ companion at a projected separation of 23 au. We conclude that the disc must orbit the primary star. While we do not detect orbital motion, comparison of the angle of linear polarization of the primary with the companion’s on-sky position angle provides circumstantial evidence that the companion and disc may not share the same orbital plane. Whether the companion severely disrupts the disc, truncates it, or has little effect at all will require further observations of both the companion and disc.
Isotope abundance ratios have an important role in astronomy and planetary sciences, providing insights into the origin and evolution of the Solar System, interstellar chemistry and stellar ...nucleosynthesis1,2. In contrast to deuterium/hydrogen ratios, carbon isotope ratios are found to be roughly constant (around 89) in the Solar System1,3, but do vary on galactic scales with a12C/13C isotopologue ratio of around 68 in the current local interstellar medium4-6. In molecular clouds and protoplanetary disks,12CO/13CO ratios can be altered by ice and gas partitioning7, low-temperature isotopic ion-exchange reactions8 and isotope-selective photodissociation9. Here we report observations of13CO in the atmosphere of the young, accreting super-Jupiter TYC 8998-760-1 b, at a statistical significance of more than six sigma. Marginalizing over the planet's atmospheric temperature structure, chemical composition and spectral calibration uncertainties suggests a12CO/13CO ratio of 31-10(90% confidence), a substantial enrichment in13C with respect to the terrestrial standard and the local interstellar value. As the current location of TYC 8998-760-1 b at greater than or equal to 160 astronomical units is far beyond the CO snowline, we postulate that it accreted a substantial fraction of its carbon from ices enriched in13C through fractionation.
Context.
Shadows in scattered light images of protoplanetary disks are a common feature and support the presence of warps or misalignments between disk regions. These warps are possibly caused by an ...inclined (sub-)stellar companion embedded in the disk.
Aims.
We aim to study the morphology of the protoplanetary disk around the Herbig Ae star HD 139614 based on the first scattered light observations of this disk, which we model with the radiative transfer code
MCMax3D
.
Methods.
We obtained
J
- and
H
-band observations that show strong azimuthal asymmetries in polarized scattered light with VLT/SPHERE. In the outer disk, beyond ~30 au, a broad shadow spans a range of ~240 deg in position angle, in the east. A bright ring at ~16 au also shows an azimuthally asymmetric brightness, with the faintest side roughly coincidental with the brightest region of the outer disk. Additionally, two arcs are detected at ~34 and ~50 au. We created a simple four-zone approximation to a warped disk model of HD 139614 in order to qualitatively reproduce these features. The location and misalignment of the disk components were constrained from the shape and location of the shadows they cast.
Results.
We find that the shadow on the outer disk covers a range of position angles too wide to be explained by a single inner misaligned component. Our model requires a minimum of two separate misaligned zones – or a continuously warped region – to cast this broad shadow on the outer disk. A small misalignment of ~4° between adjacent components can reproduce most of the observed shadow features.
Conclusions.
Multiple misaligned disk zones, potentially mimicking a warp, can explain the observed broad shadows in the HD 139614 disk. A planetary mass companion in the disk, located on an inclined orbit, could be responsible for such a feature and for the dust-depleted gap responsible for a dip in the SED.
Context.
To understand the origin and formation pathway of wide-orbit gas giant planets, it is necessary to expand the limited sample of these objects. The mass of exoplanets derived with ...spectrophotometry, however, varies strongly as a function of the age of the system and the mass of the primary star.
Aims.
By selecting stars with similar ages and masses, the Young Suns Exoplanet Survey (YSES) aims to detect and characterize planetary-mass companions to solar-type host stars in the Scorpius-Centaurus association.
Methods.
Our survey is carried out with VLT/SPHERE with short exposure sequences on the order of 5 min per star per filter. The subtraction of the stellar point spread function (PSF) is based on reference star differential imaging using the other targets (with similar colors and magnitudes) in the survey in combination with principal component analysis. Two astrometric epochs that are separated by more than one year are used to confirm co-moving companions by proper motion analysis.
Results.
We report the discovery of YSES 2b, a co-moving, planetary-mass companion to the K1 star YSES 2 (TYC 8984-2245-1, 2MASS J11275535-6626046). The primary has a
Gaia
EDR3 distance of 110 pc, and we derive a revised mass of 1.1
M
⊙
and an age of approximately 14 Myr. We detect the companion in two observing epochs southwest of the star at a position angle of 205° and with a separation of ~1.′′05, which translates to a minimum physical separation of 115 au at the distance of the system. Photometric measurements in the
H
and
K
s
bands are indicative of a late
L
spectral type, similar to the innermost planets around HR 8799. We derive a photometric planet mass of 6.3
−0.9
+1.6
M
Jup
using AMES-COND and AMES-dusty evolutionary models; this mass corresponds to a mass ratio of
q
= (0.5 ± 0.1)% with the primary. This is the lowest mass ratio of a direct imaging planet around a solar-type star to date. We discuss potential formation mechanisms and find that the current position of the planet is compatible with formation by disk gravitational instability, but its mass is lower than expected from numerical simulations. Formation via core accretion must have occurred closer to the star, yet we do not find evidence that supports the required outward migration, such as via scattering off another undiscovered companion in the system. We can exclude additional companions with masses greater than 13
M
Jup
in the full field of view of the detector (0.′′15<
ρ
<5.′′50), at 0.′′5 we can rule out further objects that are more massive than 6
M
Jup
, and for projected separations
ρ
>2′′ we are sensitive to planets with masses as low as 2
M
Jup
.
Conclusions.
YSES 2b is an ideal target for follow-up observations to further the understanding of the physical and chemical formation mechanisms of wide-orbit Jovian planets. The YSES strategy of short snapshot observations (≤5 min) and PSF subtraction based on a large reference library proves to be extremely efficient and should be considered for future direct imaging surveys.
ABSTRACT
Stellar multiplicity is a key aspect of exoplanet diversity, as the presence of more than one star in a planetary system can have both devastating and positive effects on its formation and ...evolution. In this paper, we present the results of a Lucky Imaging survey of 212 exoplanet host stars performed with AstraLux at the 2.2 m telescope of the Centro Astronómico Hispano en Andalucía. The survey includes data from seven observing epochs between August 2015 and September 2020, and data for individual targets from four earlier observing epochs. The targets of this survey are nearby, bright, solar-like stars with high proper motions. In total, we detected 46 co-moving companions of 43 exoplanet host stars. Accordingly, this survey shows that the minimum multiplicity rate of exoplanet host stars is $20 \pm 3~{\rm per\ cent}$. In total, 33 binary and 10 hierarchical triple star systems with exoplanets have been identified. All companions were found to have a common proper motion with the observed exoplanet host stars, and with our astrometry we even find evidence of orbital motion for 28 companions. For all targets, we determine the detection limit and explore the detection space for possible additional companions of these stars. Based on the reached detection limit, additional co-moving companions beyond the detected ones can be excluded around all observed exoplanet host stars. The increasing number of exoplanets discovered in multiple stellar systems suggests that the formation of planets in such systems is by no means rare, but common. Therefore, our study highlights the need to consider stellar multiplicity in future studies of exoplanet habitability.
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