The Astrophysical Journal Letters (Jan 2024)
Vortex Fiber Nulling for Exoplanet Observations: First Direct Detection of M Dwarf Companions around HIP 21543, HIP 94666, and HIP 50319
- Daniel Echeverri,
- Jerry W. Xuan,
- John D. Monnier,
- Jacques-Robert Delorme,
- Jason J. Wang,
- Nemanja Jovanovic,
- Katelyn Horstman,
- Garreth Ruane,
- Bertrand Mennesson,
- Eugene Serabyn,
- Dimitri Mawet,
- J. Kent Wallace,
- Sofia Hillman,
- Ashley Baker,
- Randall Bartos,
- Benjamin Calvin,
- Sylvain Cetre,
- Greg Doppmann,
- Luke Finnerty,
- Michael P. Fitzgerald,
- Chih-Chun Hsu,
- Joshua Liberman,
- Ronald López,
- Maxwell Millar-Blanchaer,
- Evan Morris,
- Jacklyn Pezzato,
- Jean-Baptiste Ruffio,
- Ben Sappey,
- Tobias Schofield,
- Andrew J. Skemer,
- Ji Wang,
- Yinzi Xin,
- Narsireddy Anugu,
- Sorabh Chhabra,
- Noura Ibrahim,
- Stefan Kraus,
- Gail H. Schaefer,
- Cyprien Lanthermann
Affiliations
- Daniel Echeverri
- ORCiD
- Department of Astronomy, California Institute of Technology , Pasadena, CA 91125, USA ; [email protected]
- Jerry W. Xuan
- ORCiD
- Department of Astronomy, California Institute of Technology , Pasadena, CA 91125, USA ; [email protected]
- John D. Monnier
- ORCiD
- Astronomy Department, University of Michigan , Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA
- Jacques-Robert Delorme
- ORCiD
- W. M. Keck Observatory , 65-1120 Mamalahoa Hwy, Kamuela, HI, USA
- Jason J. Wang
- ORCiD
- Center for Interdisciplinary Exploration and Research in Astrophysics (CIERA) and Department of Physics and Astronomy, Northwestern University , Evanston, IL 60208, USA
- Nemanja Jovanovic
- ORCiD
- Department of Astronomy, California Institute of Technology , Pasadena, CA 91125, USA ; [email protected]
- Katelyn Horstman
- ORCiD
- Department of Astronomy, California Institute of Technology , Pasadena, CA 91125, USA ; [email protected]
- Garreth Ruane
- ORCiD
- Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology , 4800 Oak Grove Dr., Pasadena, CA 91109, USA
- Bertrand Mennesson
- ORCiD
- Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology , 4800 Oak Grove Dr., Pasadena, CA 91109, USA
- Eugene Serabyn
- Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology , 4800 Oak Grove Dr., Pasadena, CA 91109, USA
- Dimitri Mawet
- ORCiD
- Department of Astronomy, California Institute of Technology , Pasadena, CA 91125, USA ; [email protected]; Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology , 4800 Oak Grove Dr., Pasadena, CA 91109, USA
- J. Kent Wallace
- ORCiD
- Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology , 4800 Oak Grove Dr., Pasadena, CA 91109, USA
- Sofia Hillman
- Department of Physics, University of California , Santa Barbara, CA 93106, USA
- Ashley Baker
- ORCiD
- Department of Astronomy, California Institute of Technology , Pasadena, CA 91125, USA ; [email protected]
- Randall Bartos
- Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology , 4800 Oak Grove Dr., Pasadena, CA 91109, USA
- Benjamin Calvin
- ORCiD
- Department of Physics & Astronomy, 430 Portola Plaza, University of California , Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
- Sylvain Cetre
- W. M. Keck Observatory , 65-1120 Mamalahoa Hwy, Kamuela, HI, USA
- Greg Doppmann
- W. M. Keck Observatory , 65-1120 Mamalahoa Hwy, Kamuela, HI, USA
- Luke Finnerty
- ORCiD
- Department of Physics & Astronomy, 430 Portola Plaza, University of California , Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
- Michael P. Fitzgerald
- ORCiD
- Department of Physics & Astronomy, 430 Portola Plaza, University of California , Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
- Chih-Chun Hsu
- ORCiD
- Center for Interdisciplinary Exploration and Research in Astrophysics (CIERA) and Department of Physics and Astronomy, Northwestern University , Evanston, IL 60208, USA
- Joshua Liberman
- ORCiD
- James C. Wyant College of Optical Sciences, University of Arizona , Meinel Building 1630 E. University Blvd., Tucson, AZ 85721, USA
- Ronald López
- Department of Physics & Astronomy, 430 Portola Plaza, University of California , Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
- Maxwell Millar-Blanchaer
- ORCiD
- Department of Physics, University of California , Santa Barbara, CA 93106, USA
- Evan Morris
- ORCiD
- Department of Astronomy & Astrophysics, University of California , Santa Cruz, CA 95064, USA
- Jacklyn Pezzato
- Department of Astronomy, California Institute of Technology , Pasadena, CA 91125, USA ; [email protected]
- Jean-Baptiste Ruffio
- ORCiD
- Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics, University of California, San Diego , La Jolla, CA 92093, USA
- Ben Sappey
- ORCiD
- Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics, University of California, San Diego , La Jolla, CA 92093, USA
- Tobias Schofield
- Department of Astronomy, California Institute of Technology , Pasadena, CA 91125, USA ; [email protected]
- Andrew J. Skemer
- ORCiD
- Department of Astronomy & Astrophysics, University of California , Santa Cruz, CA 95064, USA
- Ji Wang
- ORCiD
- Department of Astronomy, The Ohio State University , Columbus, OH 43210, USA
- Yinzi Xin
- ORCiD
- Department of Astronomy, California Institute of Technology , Pasadena, CA 91125, USA ; [email protected]
- Narsireddy Anugu
- ORCiD
- The CHARA Array of Georgia State University , Mount Wilson Observatory, Mount Wilson, CA 91023, USA
- Sorabh Chhabra
- ORCiD
- School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Exeter , Exeter, EX4 4QL, UK
- Noura Ibrahim
- ORCiD
- Astronomy Department, University of Michigan , Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA
- Stefan Kraus
- ORCiD
- School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Exeter , Exeter, EX4 4QL, UK
- Gail H. Schaefer
- ORCiD
- The CHARA Array of Georgia State University , Mount Wilson Observatory, Mount Wilson, CA 91023, USA
- Cyprien Lanthermann
- ORCiD
- The CHARA Array of Georgia State University , Mount Wilson Observatory, Mount Wilson, CA 91023, USA
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.3847/2041-8213/ad3619
- Journal volume & issue
-
Vol. 965,
no. 2
p. L15
Abstract
Vortex fiber nulling (VFN) is a technique for detecting and characterizing faint companions at small separations from their host star. A near-infrared (∼2.3 μ m) VFN demonstrator mode was deployed on the Keck Planet Imager and Characterizer (KPIC) instrument at the Keck Observatory and presented earlier. In this Letter, we present the first VFN companion detections. Three targets, HIP 21543 Ab, HIP 94666 Ab, and HIP 50319 B, were detected with host–companion flux ratios between 70 and 430 at and within one diffraction beamwidth ( λ / D ). We complement the spectra from KPIC VFN with flux ratio and position measurements from the CHARA Array to validate the VFN results and provide a more complete characterization of the targets. This Letter reports the first direct detection of these three M dwarf companions, yielding their first spectra and flux ratios. Our observations provide measurements of bulk properties such as effective temperatures, radial velocities, and $v\sin i$ , and verify the accuracy of the published orbits. These detections corroborate earlier predictions of the KPIC VFN performance, demonstrating that the instrument mode is ready for science observations.
Keywords
- Exoplanet detection methods
- Astronomical instrumentation
- Direct detection interferometry
- High resolution spectroscopy
- Companion stars
