SPHERE: exo-planets science with the new frontier of high contrast imaging

Details SPHERE: exo-planets science with the new frontier of high contrast imaging SPHERE: exo-planets science with the new frontier of high contrast imaging

Sep 2008

adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2008epsc.conf..875c&link_type=abstract

European Planetary Science Congress 2008, Proceedings of the conference held 21-25 September, 2008 in Münster, Germany. Online a

Physics

Optics

Scientific paper

ABSTRACT High contrast imaging will be the new frontier of exoplanets search providing the opportunity to have at once a deep glance in the neighborhood of the target star. In addition, coupling integral field spectrographs to extreme adaptive optics module at the focus of 8m telescope class and in future to ELTs, gives also the possibility to have a first order characterization of the exoplanets itself. SPHERE, second generation instrument for VLT, is an exo-solar planet imager, which goal is to detect giant exo-solar planets in the vicinity of bright stars and to characterize them through spectroscopic and polarimetric observations. It is a complete system with a core made of an extreme-Adaptive Optics (AO) turbulence correction, pupil tracker and interferential coronagraphs. At its back end, a differential dual imaging camera (IRDIS) and an integral field spectrograph (IFS) work in the Near Infrared (NIR) Y, J, H and Ks bands (0.95-2.32 μm) and a high resolution polarization camera (ZIMPOL) covers the visible (0.6 - 0.9 μm). The three instruments could work simultaneously. As matter of fact, as the instrument has been thought and designed, It should be considered more like an experiment than a typical ancillary instrumentation. The prime objective of SPHERE is the discovery and study of new planets orbiting stars by direct imaging of the circumstellar environment. The challenge consists in the very large contrast of luminosity between the star and the planet (larger than " 12.5 magnitudes or " 105 flux ratio), at very small angular separations, typically inside the seeing halo. The whole design of SPHERE is therefore optimized towards high contrast performance in a limited field of view and at short distances from the central star. Both evolved and young planetary systems will be detected, respectively through their reflected light (mostly by ZIMPOL) and through the intrinsic planet emission (IRDIS+IFS modes). Both components of the near-infrared arm of SPHERE will provide complementary detection capacities and characterization potential, in terms of field of view, contrast, and spectral domain. The number of planets expected to be detected is a very strong function of the (assumed) distribution of planet separation. Extending the semi-major axis distribution up to P=250 yr (about 40 AU) yield a number of planet detections about 3.5 larger than for the same distribution truncated at P=70 yr (about 17 AU). Several tens of planet detection (details depend on target number and selection criteria) are then expected between 20 and 40 AU if planets are there. SPHERE has clearly the potential for an accurate determination of the frequency of planets in wide orbits. Note that while giant planets are not expected to be found in large number at very wide separation (a >50-100 AU), brown dwarfs might instead be present. In this paper a brief description of the whole instrument is given. Furthermore, an analysis of the performances of the instrument with its foreseen ability in discovering and characterize warm planets is also given. Last, but not least, SPHERE and its USA counter part: GPI, open the path towards new high contrast istrumentation for ELT like EPICS.

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