A Survey of Protoplanetary Disks Using the Keck/NIRC2 Vortex Coronagraph

Abstract Recent Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) observations of protoplanetary disks in the millimeter continuum have shown a variety of radial gaps, cavities, and spiral features. These substructures may be signposts for ongoing planet formation, and therefore these systems are promising targets for direct imaging planet searches in the near-infrared. To this end, we present results from a deep imaging survey in the <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" overflow="scroll"> <mml:mi>L</mml:mi> <mml:mo accent="false">′</mml:mo> </mml:math> band (3.8 μ m) with the Keck/NIRC2 vortex coronagraph to search for young planets in 43 disks with resolved features in the millimeter continuum or evidence for gaps/central cavities from their spectral energy distributions. Although we do not detect any new point sources, using the vortex coronagraph allows for high sensitivity to faint sources at small angular separations (down to ∼0.″1), allowing us to place strong upper limits on the masses of potential gas giant planets. We compare our mass sensitivities to the masses of planets derived using ALMA observations, and while we are sensitive to ∼1 M Jup planets in the gaps in some of our systems, we are generally not sensitive to planets of the masses expected from the ALMA observations. In addition to placing upper limits on the masses of gas giant planets that could be interacting with the dust in the disks to form the observed millimeter substructures, we are also able to map the micron-sized dust as seen in scattered light for 8 of these systems. Our large sample of systems also allows us to investigate limits on planetary accretion rates and disk viscosities.

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Publication Details

Journal
The Astronomical Journal
Published
2024-08-01
DOI
https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-3881/ad390c
Citations
9
Primary Topic
Astro and Planetary Science
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
2.98

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article

A Survey of Protoplanetary Disks Using the Keck/NIRC2 Vortex Coronagraph

Tiffany Meshkat, Henry Ngo, Élodie Choquet, Zoë Zawol et al.
9 citations
The Astronomical Journal
Astro and Planetary Science
2.98
article

A Survey of Protoplanetary Disks Using the Keck/NIRC2 Vortex Coronagraph

Tiffany Meshkat, Henry Ngo, Élodie Choquet, Zoë Zawol, Zhaohuan Zhu, Karl Stapelfeldt, Heather A. Knutson, Elsa Huby, Nicole L. Wallack, Michael Bottom, Maddalena Reggiani, Jean-Baptiste Ruffio, M. Villenave, Olivier Absil, Bin Ren, Valentin Christiaens, Dimitri Mawet, Joel H. Kastner, Jaehan Bae, Peter Wizinowich, Shangjia Zhang, Garreth Ruane, Greta Guidi, Luca Ricci, Benjamin Calvin, Carlos Gómez González, Jonathan P. Williams, Taichi Uyama, Jerry W. Xuan, Michael C. Liu, Jason Wang, Therese Cook, Bruno Femenía Castellá, C. Álvarez, Charlotte Z. Bond, Sam Ragland, Eugene Serabyn
article en
9 citations

Abstract

Abstract Recent Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) observations of protoplanetary disks in the millimeter continuum have shown a variety of radial gaps, cavities, and spiral features. These substructures may be signposts for ongoing planet formation, and therefore these systems are promising targets for direct imaging planet searches in the near-infrared. To this end, we present results from a deep imaging survey in the <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" overflow="scroll"> <mml:mi>L</mml:mi> <mml:mo accent="false">′</mml:mo> </mml:math> band (3.8 μ m) with the Keck/NIRC2 vortex coronagraph to search for young planets in 43 disks with resolved features in the millimeter continuum or evidence for gaps/central cavities from their spectral energy distributions. Although we do not detect any new point sources, using the vortex coronagraph allows for high sensitivity to faint sources at small angular separations (down to ∼0.″1), allowing us to place strong upper limits on the masses of potential gas giant planets. We compare our mass sensitivities to the masses of planets derived using ALMA observations, and while we are sensitive to ∼1 M Jup planets in the gaps in some of our systems, we are generally not sensitive to planets of the masses expected from the ALMA observations. In addition to placing upper limits on the masses of gas giant planets that could be interacting with the dust in the disks to form the observed millimeter substructures, we are also able to map the micron-sized dust as seen in scattered light for 8 of these systems. Our large sample of systems also allows us to investigate limits on planetary accretion rates and disk viscosities.

The Astronomical JournalVol. 168(2)
Northwestern University (US), California Institute of Technology (US), Herzberg Institute of Astrophysics (CA), Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (FR), University of Hawaii System (US), Jet Propulsion Laboratory (US), University of Nevada, Las Vegas (US), Rochester Institute of Technology (US), California State University, Northridge (US), University of Liège (BE), Universidad de La Laguna (ES), University of California, Los Angeles (US), Science and Technology Facilities Council (GB), University of Milan (IT), Carnegie Institution for Science (US), Université Paris Cité (FR), Aix-Marseille Université (FR), Université Paris Sciences et Lettres (FR), Barcelona Supercomputing Center (ES), Observatoire de Paris (FR), W.M. Keck Observatory (US), University of Florida (US), University of California San Diego (US), Sorbonne Université (FR), Institut de Radioastronomie Millimétrique (FR), Université Bourgogne Franche-Comté (FR), Laboratoire d’études spatiales et d’instrumentation en astrophysique (FR), Institute of Astronomy (RU), Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias (ES), Infrared Processing and Analysis Center (US), KU Leuven (BE)
National Science Foundation, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, W. M. Keck Foundation, California Institute of Technology, Resnick Sustainability Institute for Science, Energy and Sustainability, California Institute of Technology, European Space Agency, Universities Space Research Association, European Commission, Schweizerischer Nationalfonds zur Förderung der Wissenschaftlichen Forschung, Nuclear Safety and Security Commission, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, HORIZON EUROPE Framework Programme, European Research Council, HORIZON EUROPE Marie Sklodowska-Curie Actions
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Astro and Planetary Science
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