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Title: POLARIMETRY WITH THE GEMINI PLANET IMAGER: METHODS, PERFORMANCE AT FIRST LIGHT, AND THE CIRCUMSTELLAR RING AROUND HR 4796A

Journal Article · · Astrophysical Journal
 [1]; ; ;  [2];  [3]; ;  [4]; ; ;  [5]; ;  [6]; ; ; ;  [7];  [8];  [9]; ;  [10] more »; « less
  1. Space Telescope Science Institute, 3700 San Martin Drive, Baltimore, MD 21218 (United States)
  2. Astronomy Department, University of California, Berkeley, Hearst Field Annex B-20, Berkeley, CA 94720-3411 (United States)
  3. Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics, University of Toronto, Toronto ON M5S 3H4 (Canada)
  4. Department of Physics and Astronomy, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA 90095 (United States)
  5. Department of Astronomy, UC Santa Cruz, 1156 High Street, Santa Cruz, CA 95064 (United States)
  6. Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, 7000 East Avenue, Livermore, CA 94040 (United States)
  7. Gemini Observatory, Casilla 603 La Serena (Chile)
  8. School of Earth and Space Exploration, Arizona State University, P.O. Box 871404, Tempe, AZ 85287 (United States)
  9. Department de Physique, Université de Montréal, Montréal QC H3C 3J7 (Canada)
  10. National Research Council of Canada Herzberg, 5071 West Saanich Road, Victoria, BC V9E 2E7 (Canada)
+ Show Author Affiliations

We present the first results from the polarimetry mode of the Gemini Planet Imager (GPI), which uses a new integral field polarimetry architecture to provide high contrast linear polarimetry with minimal systematic biases between the orthogonal polarizations. We describe the design, data reduction methods, and performance of polarimetry with GPI. Point-spread function (PSF) subtraction via differential polarimetry suppresses unpolarized starlight by a factor of over 100, and provides sensitivity to circumstellar dust reaching the photon noise limit for these observations. In the case of the circumstellar disk around HR 4796A, GPI's advanced adaptive optics system reveals the disk clearly even prior to PSF subtraction. In polarized light, the disk is seen all the way in to its semi-minor axis for the first time. The disk exhibits surprisingly strong asymmetry in polarized intensity, with the west side ≳ 9 times brighter than the east side despite the fact that the east side is slightly brighter in total intensity. Based on a synthesis of the total and polarized intensities, we now believe that the west side is closer to us, contrary to most prior interpretations. Forward scattering by relatively large silicate dust particles leads to the strong polarized intensity on the west side, and the ring must be slightly optically thick in order to explain the lower brightness in total intensity there. These findings suggest that the ring is geometrically narrow and dynamically cold, perhaps shepherded by larger bodies in the same manner as Saturn's F ring.

OSTI ID:
22364343
Journal Information:
Astrophysical Journal, Vol. 799, Issue 2; Other Information: Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 0004-637X
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English

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Outer edges of debris discs: how sharp is sharp? text January 2008
Complex Organic Materials in the HR 4796A Disk? text January 2008
Speckle Suppression Through Dual Imaging Polarimetry, and a Ground-Based Image of the HR 4796A Circumstellar Disk text January 2009
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Deriving Telescope Mueller Matrices Using Daytime Sky Polarization Observations text January 2011
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The SHARDDS survey: First resolved image of the HD 114082 debris disk in the Lower Centaurus Crux with SPHERE journal November 2016
Polarimetric imaging mode of VLT/SPHERE/IRDIS: II. Characterization and correction of instrumental polarization effects, journal January 2020
Two cold belts in the debris disk around the G-type star NZ Lupi journal May 2019
Optical polarised phase function of the HR 4796A dust ring journal June 2019
Dust production in the debris disk around HR 4796 A journal October 2019
POLICAN: A Near-infrared Imaging Polarimeter at the 2.1m OAGH Telescope journal March 2018
Astronomical Polarimetry with the RIT Polarization Imaging Camera journal April 2018
ALMA observations of the narrow HR 4796A debris ring journal January 2018
Automated data processing architecture for the Gemini Planet Imager Exoplanet Survey journal January 2018
GPI observational calibrations XIV: polarimetric contrasts and new data reduction techniques conference August 2016
Gemini Planet Imager observational calibrations XI: pipeline improvements and enhanced calibrations after two years on sky conference August 2016
IMAGING AN 80 au RADIUS DUST RING AROUND THE F5V STAR HD 157587 journal October 2016
Complex Spiral Structure in the HD 100546 Transitional Disk as Revealed by GPI and MagAO journal May 2017
The HR 4796A Debris System: Discovery of Extensive Exo-ring Dust Material journal January 2018
Direct Imaging of the HD 35841 Debris Disk: A Polarized Dust Ring from Gemini Planet Imager and an Outer Halo from HST /STIS journal July 2018
Performance of the Gemini Planet Imager Non-redundant Mask and Spectroscopy of Two Close-separation Binaries: HR 2690 and HD 142527 journal June 2019
First Resolved Scattered-light Images of Four Debris Disks in Scorpius-Centaurus with the Gemini Planet Imager journal January 2020
Imaging the 44 au Kuiper Belt Analog Debris Ring around HD 141569A with GPI Polarimetry journal January 2020
Dust Polarization toward Embedded Protostars in Ophiuchus with ALMA. I. VLA 1623 journal June 2018
Multiple Spiral Arms in the Disk around Intermediate-mass Binary HD 34700A journal February 2019
An Exo–Kuiper Belt with an Extended Halo around HD 191089 in Scattered Light journal September 2019
Irregular Dust Features around Intermediate-mass Young Stars with GPI: Signs of Youth or Misaligned Disks? journal December 2019
Polarimetric imaging mode of VLT/SPHERE/IRDIS: I. Description, data reduction, and observing strategy journal January 2020
Exocometary gas in the HD 181327 debris ring journal May 2016
Dust production in the debris disk around HR 4796 A text January 2019
The SHARDDS survey: First resolved image of the HD 114082 debris disk in the Lower Centaurus Crux with SPHERE text January 2016
ALMA observations of the narrow HR 4796A debris ring text January 2018
The exoplanet handbook: Book Review journal March 2012
Two cold belts in the debris disk around the G-type star NZ Lupi text January 2019
Exocometary gas in the HD 181327 debris ring text January 2016
Dust production in the debris disk around HR 4796 A text January 2019
Direct imaging of an asymmetric debris disk in the HD 106906 planetary system preprint January 2015
Imaging an 80 AU Radius Dust Ring Around the F5V Star HD 157587 text January 2016
The SHARDDS survey: first resolved image of the HD114082 debris disk in Lower Centaurus Crux with SPHERE text January 2016
Astronomical Polarimetry with the RIT Polarization Imaging Camera text January 2017
The HR 4796A Debris System: Discovery of Extensive Exo-Ring Dust Material text January 2017
Automated data processing architecture for the Gemini Planet Imager Exoplanet Survey text January 2018
Dust Polarization Toward Embedded Protostars in Ophiuchus with ALMA. I. VLA 1623 text January 2018
Performance of the Gemini Planet Imager Non-Redundant Mask and spectroscopy of two close-separation binaries HR 2690 and HD 142527 text January 2019
Optical polarized phase function of the HR\,4796A dust ring text January 2019
An Exo-Kuiper Belt and An Extended Halo around HD 191089 in Scattered Light text January 2019
Dust production in the debris disk around HR 4796 A text January 2019
Imaging the 44 AU Kuiper Belt-analogue debris ring around HD 141569A with GPI polarimetry text January 2019

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Related Subjects

79 ASTROPHYSICS
COSMOLOGY AND ASTRONOMY
ASYMMETRY
BRIGHTNESS
COSMIC DUST
COSMIC PHOTONS
IMAGES
OPTICS
PERFORMANCE
PLANETS
POLARIMETRY
POLARIZATION
RESOLUTION
SCATTERING
SENSITIVITY
SILICATES
STARS
VISIBLE RADIATION