Multiband Polarimetric Imaging of HR 4796A with the Gemini Planet Imager
HR4796A hosts a well-studied debris disk with a long history due to its high fractional luminosity and favorable inclination, which facilitate both unresolved and resolved observations. We present new J- and K1-band images of the resolved debris disk HR4796A taken in the polarimetric mode of the Gemini Planet Imager (GPI). The polarized intensity features a strongly forward-scattered brightness distribution and is undetected at the far side of the disk. The total intensity is detected at all scattering angles and also exhibits a strong forward-scattering peak. We use a forward-modeled geometric disk in order to extract geometric parameters, polarized fraction, andmore »