Search

Context. Cold planets, including all habitable planets, produce only scattered light emission in the visual to near-infrared wavelength range. For this reason it is highly desirable to adapt the technique for the direct imaging of reflected light from extra-solar planets. Aims. For the nearby system ε Eri, we want to set much deeper detection limits for the expected scattered radiation from the radial velocity planet candidate (≈0.7 MJ) and the warm dust using the VLT/SPHERE adaptive optics (AO) instrument with the ZIMPOL imaging polarimeter. Methods. We carried out very deep imaging polarimetry of ε Eri based on 38.5 h of integration time with a broad-band filter (λc = 735 nm) for the search of the polarization signal from a planet or from circumstellar dust using AO, coronagraphy, high precision differential polarimetry, and angular differential imaging. The data were collected during 12 nights within four epochs distributed over 14 months and we searched for a signal in the individual epochs. We also combined the full data set to achieve an even higher contrast limit considering the Keplerian motion using the K-Stacker software. All data were also combined for the search of the scattering signal from extended dust clouds. We improved various data reduction and post-processing procedures and also developed new ones to enhance the sensitivity of SPHERE/ZIMPOL further. The final detection limits were quantified and we investigated the potential of SPHERE/ZIMPOL for deeper observations. Results. The data of ε Eridani provide unprecedented contrast limits but no significant detection of a point source or an extended signal from circumstellar dust. For each observing epoch, we achieved a 5 σ풩 point source contrast for the polarized intensity CP = Qϕ/I★ between 2 × 10−8 and 4 × 10−8 at a separation of ρ ≈ 1″, which is as expected for the proposed radial velocity planet at a quadrature phase. The polarimetric contrast limits are close to the photon noise limits for ρ > 0.6″ or about six times to 50 times better than the intensity limits because polarimetric imaging is much more efficient for speckle suppression. Combining the data for the search of a planet moving on a Keplerian orbit with the K-Stacker technique improves the contrast limits further by about a factor of two, when compared to an epoch, to about CP = 0.8 × 10−8 at ρ = 1″. This would allow the detection of a planet with a radius of about 2.5 RJ. Should future astrometry provide strong constraints on the position of the planet, then a 3 σ풩 detection at 1″ with CP ≈ 5 × 10−9 would be within reach of our data. The surface brightness contrast limits achieved for the polarized intensity from an extended scattering region is about 15 mag arcsec−2 at 1″ or up to 3 mag arcsec−2 deeper than previous limits. For ε Eri, these limits exclude the presence of a narrow dust ring and they constrain the dust properties. The photon statistics would allow deeper limits but we find a very weak systematic noise pattern probably introduced by polarimetric calibration errors. Conclusions. This ε Eri study shows that the polarimetric contrast limits for reflecting planets with SPHERE/ZIMPOL can be improved to a level below Cp < 10−8 by just collecting more data during many nights using software such as K-Stacker, which can combine all data considering the expected planet orbit. Contrast limits of Cp ≈ 10−9 are within reach for ε Eri if the search can be optimized for a planet with a well-known orbit. This limit is also attainable for other bright nearby stars, such as α Cen or Sirius A. Such data also provide unprecedented sensitivity for the search of extended polarized emission from warm circumstellar dust. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Context. The SPHERE "planet finder" is an extreme adaptive optics (AO) instrument for high resolution and high contrast observations at the Very Large Telescope (VLT). We describe the Zurich Imaging Polarimeter (ZIMPOL), the visual focal plane subsystem of SPHERE, which pushes the limits of current AO systems to shorter wavelengths, higher spatial resolution, and much improved polarimetric performance. Aims. We present a detailed characterization of SPHERE/ZIMPOL which should be useful for an optimal planning of observations and for improving the data reduction and calibration. We aim to provide new benchmarks for the performance of high contrast instruments, in particular for polarimetric differential imaging. Methods. We have analyzed SPHERE/ZIMPOL point spread functions (PSFs) and measure the normalized peak surface brightness, the encircled energy, and the full width half maximum (FWHM) for different wavelengths, atmospheric conditions, star brightness, and instrument modes. Coronagraphic images are described and the peak flux attenuation and the off-axis flux transmission are determined. Simultaneous images of the coronagraphic focal plane and the pupil plane are analyzed and the suppression of the diffraction rings by the pupil stop is investigated. We compared the performance at small separation for different coronagraphs with tests for the binary α Hyi with a separation of 92 mas and a contrast of Δm ≈ 6m. For the polarimetric mode we made the instrument calibrations using zero polarization and high polarization standard stars and here we give a recipe for the absolute calibration of polarimetric data. The data show small (< 1 mas) but disturbing differential polarimetric beam shifts, which can be explained as Goos-Hähnchen shifts from the inclined mirrors, and we discuss how to correct this effect. The polarimetric sensitivity is investigated with non-coronagraphic and deep, coronagraphic observations of the dust scattering around the symbiotic Mira variable R Aqr. Results. SPHERE/ZIMPOL reaches routinely an angular resolution (FWHM) of 22−28 mas, and a normalized peak surface brightness of SB0 − mstar ≈ −6.5m arcsec−2 for the V-, R- and I-band. The AO performance is worse for mediocre ≳1.0″ seeing conditions, faint stars mR ≳ 9m, or in the presence of the "low wind" effect (telescope seeing). The coronagraphs are effective in attenuating the PSF peak by factors of > 100, and the suppression of the diffracted light improves the contrast performance by a factor of approximately two in the separation range 0.06″−0.20″. The polarimetric sensitivity is Δp < 0.01% and the polarization zero point can be calibrated to better than Δp ≈ 0.1%. The contrast limits for differential polarimetric imaging for the 400 s I-band data of R Aqr at a separation of ρ = 0.86″ are for the surface brightness contrast SBpol(ρ)−mstar ≈ 8m arcsec−2 and for the point source contrast mpol(ρ)−mstar ≈ 15m and much lower limits are achievable with deeper observations. Conclusions. SPHERE/ZIMPOL achieves imaging performances in the visual range with unprecedented characteristics, in particular very high spatial resolution and very high polarimetric contrast. This instrument opens up many new research opportunities for the detailed investigation of circumstellar dust, in scattered and therefore polarized light, for the investigation of faint companions, and for the mapping of circumstellar Hα emission. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ground-based observations at thermal infrared wavelengths suffer from large background radiation due to the sky, telescope and warm surfaces in the instrument. This significantly limits the sensitivity of ground-based observations at wavelengths longer than -3 μm. The main purpose of this work is to analyse this background emission in infrared high-contrast imaging data as illustrative of the problem, show how it can be modelled and subtracted and demonstrate that it can improve the detection of faint sources, such as exoplanets. Methods. We used principal component analysis (PCA) to model and subtract the thermal background emission in three archival high-contrast angular differential imaging datasets in the M0 and L0 filter. We used an M0 dataset of Pic to describe in detail how the algorithm works and explain how it can be applied. The results of the background subtraction are compared to the results from a conventional mean background subtraction scheme applied to the same dataset. Finally, both methods for background subtraction are compared by performing complete data reductions. We analysed the results from the M0 dataset of HD 100546 only qualitatively. For the M0 band dataset of Pic and the L0 band dataset of HD 169142, which was obtained with an angular groove phase mask vortex vector coronagraph, we also calculated and analysed the achieved signal-to-noise ratio (S/N). Results. We show that applying PCA is an effective way to remove spatially and temporarily varying thermal background emission down to close to the background limit. The procedure also proves to be very successful at reconstructing the background that is hidden behind the point spread function. In the complete data reductions, we find at least qualitative improvements for HD 100546 and HD 169142, however, we fail to find a significant increase in S/N of Pic b. We discuss these findings and argue that in particular datasets with strongly varying observing conditions or infrequently sampled sky background will benefit from the new approach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]