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Astronomy and AstrophysicsVolume 603, 1 July 2017, Article number A57

Spectral and atmospheric characterization of 51 Eridani b using VLT/SPHERE(Article)(Open Access)

  • Samland, M.,
  • Mollière, P.,
  • Bonnefoy, M.,
  • Maire, A.-L.,
  • Cantalloube, F.,
  • Cheetham, A.C.,
  • Mesa, D.,
  • Gratton, R.,
  • Biller, B.A.,
  • Wahhaj, Z.,
  • Bouwman, J.,
  • Brandner, W.,
  • Melnick, D.,
  • Carson, J.,
  • Janson, M.,
  • Henning, T.,
  • Homeier, D.,
  • Mordasini, C.,
  • Langlois, M.,
  • Quanz, S.P.,
  • Van Boekel, R.,
  • Zurlo, A.,
  • Schlieder, J.E.,
  • Avenhaus, H.,
  • Beuzit, J.-L.,
  • Boccaletti, A.,
  • Bonavita, M.,
  • Chauvin, G.,
  • Claudi, R.,
  • Cudel, M.,
  • Desidera, S.,
  • Feldt, M.,
  • Fusco, T.,
  • Galicher, R.,
  • Kopytova, T.G.,
  • Lagrange, A.-M.,
  • Le Coroller, H.,
  • Martinez, P.,
  • Moeller-Nilsson, O.,
  • Mouillet, D.,
  • Mugnier, L.M.,
  • Perrot, C.,
  • Sevin, A.,
  • Sissa, E.,
  • Vigan, A.,
  • Weber, L.
  Save all to author list
  • aMax-Planck-Institut für Astronomie, Königstuhl 17, Heidelberg, 69117, Germany
  • bInternational Max Planck Research School for Astronomy and Cosmic Physics (IMPRS), University of Heidelberg (HD), Heidelberg, 69117, Germany
  • cUniv. Grenoble Alpes, CNRS, IPAG, Grenoble, 38000, France
  • dONERA, French Aerospace Lab, 29 avenue de la Division Leclerc, Châtillon Cedex, 92322, France
  • eGeneva Observatory, University of Geneva, Chemin des Maillettes 51, Versoix, 1290, Switzerland
  • fINAF, Osservatorio Astronomico di Padova, Vicolo dell'Osservatorio 5, Padova, 35122, Italy
  • gInstitute for Astronomy, University of Edinburgh, Blackford Hill View, Edinburgh, EH9 3HJ, United Kingdom
  • hEuropean Southern Observatory, Alonso de Cordova 3107, Casilla, Vitacura, Santiago 19, 19001, Chile
  • iDepartment of Physics and Astronomy, College of Charleston, 66 George Street, Charleston, SC 29424, United States
  • jDepartment of Astronomy, Stockholm University, AlbaNova University Center, Stockholm, 106 91, Sweden
  • kZentrum für Astronomie, Universität Heidelberg, Landessternwarte, Königstuhl 12, Heidelberg, 69117, Germany
  • lPhysikalisches Institut, University of Bern, Sidlerstrasse 5, Bern, 3012, Switzerland
  • mCRAL, UMR 5574, CNRS, Université Lyon 1, 9 avenue Charles André, Saint Genis Laval Cedex, 69561, France
  • nAix-Marseille Univ., CNRS, LAM, Laboratoire d'Astrophysique de Marseille, Marseille, 13013, France
  • oInstitute for Astronomy, ETH Zurich, Wolfgang-Pauli-Strasse 27, Zurich, 8093, Switzerland
  • pDepartamento de Astronomía, Universidad de Chile, Casilla 36-D, Santiago, Chile
  • qNúcleo de Astronomía, Facultad de Ingeniería, Universidad Diego Portales, Av. Ejercito 441, Santiago, Chile
  • rNASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, CA 94035, United States
  • sLESIA, Observatoire de Paris, PSL Research Univ., CNRS, Univ. Paris Diderot, Sorbonne Paris Cité, UPMC Paris 6, Sorbonne Univ., 5 place Jules Janssen, Meudon Cedex, 92195, France
  • tSchool of Earth and Space Exploration, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85287, United States
  • uUral Federal University, Yekaterinburg, 620002, Russian Federation
  • vUniversité Côte d'Azur, Observatoire de la Côte d'Azur, CNRS, Lagrange, Nice Cedex 4, 06304, France

Abstract

Context. 51 Eridani b is an exoplanet around a young (20 Myr) nearby (29.4 pc) F0-type star, which was recently discovered by direct imaging. It is one of the closest direct imaging planets in angular and physical separation (∼0.5″, ∼13 au) and is well suited for spectroscopic analysis using integral field spectrographs. Aims. We aim to refine the atmospheric properties of the known giant planet and to constrain the architecture of the system further by searching for additional companions. Methods. We used the extreme adaptive optics instrument SPHERE at the Very Large Telescope (VLT) to obtain simultaneous dual-band imaging with IRDIS and integral field spectra with IFS, extending the spectral coverage of the planet to the complete Y- to H-band range and providing additional photometry in the K12-bands (2.11, 2.25 μm). The object is compared to other known cool and peculiar dwarfs. The posterior probability distributions for parameters 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. We used archival VLT-NACO (L′) Sparse Aperture Masking data to probe the innermost region for additional companions. Results. 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 fsed. We find that the atmosphere is highly super-solar ([Fe/H] = 1.0 ± 0.1 dex), and the low fsed = 1.26+0.36 -0.29 value is indicative of a vertically extended, optically thick cloud cover with small sized particles. The model radius and surface gravity estimates suggest higher planetary masses of Mgravity = 9.1+4.9 -3.3 MJ. The evolutionary model only provides a lower mass limit of > 2 MJ (for pure hot-start). The cold-start model cannot explain the luminosity of the planet. 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 MJ beyond separations of ∼2.5 au and giant planets more massive than 2 MJ beyond 9 au. © ESO, 2017.

Author keywords

Methods: data analysisPlanets and satellites: atmospheresStars: individual: 51 EridaniTechniques: high angular resolutionTechniques: image processing

Indexed keywords

Engineering controlled terms:Adaptive opticsGravitationOptical data processingPlanetsProbability distributionsSatellitesSpectroscopic analysisStars
Engineering uncontrolled termsMethods:data analysisPlanets and satellites: atmospheresStars: individualTechniques: high angular resolutionsTechniques: image processing
Engineering main heading:Image processing

Funding details

Funding sponsor Funding number Acronym
RII3-Ct-2004-001566 for FP6 (2004-2008
ANR10 LABX56
South Carolina Space Grant ConsortiumSCSGC
Seventh Framework Programme2009-2012,226604,312430FP7
Centro de Estudos Ambientais e Marinhos, Universidade de AveiroCESAM
Agence Nationale de la Recherche
See opportunities by ANR		ANR-14-CE33-0018ANR
Schweizerischer Nationalfonds zur Förderung der Wissenschaftlichen Forschung
See opportunities by SNF		BSSGI0-155816SNF
Fondo Nacional de Desarrollo Científico y Tecnológico3150643FONDECYT
Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule ZürichETH
Institut national des sciences de l'UniversINSU,CNRS
Centre National de la Recherche ScientifiqueCNRS
Istituto Nazionale di AstrofisicaINAF
Ministry of EconomyRC130007
Nederlandse Onderzoekschool Voor AstronomieNOVA
Laboratoire d’Astrophysique de MarseilleLAM
Max-Planck-Institut für AstronomieMPIA

  • 1

    We acknowledge financial support from the Programme National de Planétologie (PNP) and the Programme National de Physique Stellaire (PNPS) of CNRS-INSU. This work has also been supported by a grant from the French Labex OSUG@2020 (Investissements d'avenir - ANR10 LABX56). The project is supported by CNRS, by the Agence Nationale de la Recherche (ANR-14-CE33-0018). This work has made use of the SPHERE Data Centre, jointly operated by OSUG/IPAG (Grenoble), PYTHEAS/LAM/CeSAM (Marseille), OCA/Lagrange (Nice) and Observatoire de Paris/LESIA (Paris). H.A. acknowledges support from the Millennium Science Initiative (Chilean Ministry of Economy) through grant RC130007 and from FONDECYT grant 3150643. C.M. acknowledges the support of the Swiss National Science Foundation via grant BSSGI0-155816 "PlanetsInTime". J. Carson and D. Melnick were supported by the South Carolina Space Grant Consortium. We thank P. Delorme and E. Lagadec (SPHERE Data Centre) for their efficient help during the data reduction process. SPHERE is an instrument designed and built by a consortium consisting of IPAG (Grenoble, France), MPIA (Heidelberg, Germany), LAM (Marseille, France), LESIA (Paris, France), Laboratoire Lagrange (Nice, France), INAF-Osservatorio di Padova (Italy), Observatoire astronomique de l'Université de Genève (Switzerland), ETH Zurich (Switzerland), NOVA (The Netherlands), ONERA (France) and ASTRON (The Netherlands) in collaboration with ESO. SPHERE was funded by ESO, with additional contributions from CNRS (France), MPIA (Germany), INAF (Italy), FINES (Switzerland) and NOVA (The Netherlands). SPHERE also received funding from the European Commission Sixth and Seventh Framework Programmes as part of the Optical Infrared Coordination Network for Astronomy (OPTICON) under grant number RII3-Ct-2004-001566 for FP6 (2004-2008), grant number 226604 for FP7 (2009-2012) and grant number 312430 for FP7 (2013-2016).

  • ISSN: 00046361
  • CODEN: AAEJA
  • Source Type: Journal
  • Original language: English
  • DOI: 10.1051/0004-6361/201629767
  • Document Type: Article
  • Publisher: EDP Sciences


© Copyright 2018 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.

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