Physics – Optics
Scientific paper
Jan 2011
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2011aas...21730203k&link_type=abstract
American Astronomical Society, AAS Meeting #217, #302.03; Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society, Vol. 43, 2011
Physics
Optics
1
Scientific paper
Young and directly-imaged exoplanets offer critical tests of planet-formation models that can't be matched by RV surveys of mature stars. These targets have been extremely elusive to date, with no exoplanets younger than 10-20 Myr and only a handful of direct-imaged exoplanets at all ages. We will report the first direct detection of a young exoplanet during its epoch of formation (T 2 Myr); this discovery was achieved using adaptive optics imaging combined with aperture mask interferometry, a technique that achieves extremely deep sensitivity at the diffraction limit of the telescope. The new planet is embedded in a protoplanetary disk with a large cleared gap (a ``transitional disk'') and orbits within that gap. Based on the substantial mass of the circumstellar disk and the very red colors of the planet, we propose that the planet is still accreting mass out of the circumstellar disk through a circumplanetary disk or shell. We will discuss this discovery in the context of our ongoing survey to identify planets in transition disk gaps, including its implications for the process, epoch, and duration of planet formation.
Ireland Michael J.
Kraus Adam L.
No associations
LandOfFree
A Young Exoplanet Caught at Formation does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this scientific paper.
If you have personal experience with A Young Exoplanet Caught at Formation, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and A Young Exoplanet Caught at Formation will most certainly appreciate the feedback.
Profile ID: LFWR-SCP-O-1400617