Searching for Planets Orbiting Fomalhaut with JWST/NIRCam
We report observations with the JWST/NIRCam coronagraph of the Fomalhaut ( α PsA) system. This nearby A star hosts a complex debris disk system discovered by the IRAS satellite. Observations in F444W and F356W filters using the round 430R mask achieve a contrast ratio of ∼4 × 10 ^−7 at 1″ and ∼4 × 1...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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IOP Publishing
2023-01-01
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| Series: | The Astronomical Journal |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-3881/ad08c8 |
| _version_ | 1797386274709962752 |
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| author | Marie Ygouf Charles A. Beichman Jorge Llop-Sayson Geoffrey Bryden Jarron M. Leisenring András Gáspár John E. Krist Marcia J. Rieke George H. Rieke Schuyler Grace Wolff Thomas L. Roellig Kate Su Kevin N. Hainline Klaus W. Hodapp Thomas P. Greene Michael R. Meyer Douglas M. Kelly Karl Misselt John Stansberry Martha Boyer Doug Johnstone Scott Horner Alexandra Z. Greenbaum |
| author_facet | Marie Ygouf Charles A. Beichman Jorge Llop-Sayson Geoffrey Bryden Jarron M. Leisenring András Gáspár John E. Krist Marcia J. Rieke George H. Rieke Schuyler Grace Wolff Thomas L. Roellig Kate Su Kevin N. Hainline Klaus W. Hodapp Thomas P. Greene Michael R. Meyer Douglas M. Kelly Karl Misselt John Stansberry Martha Boyer Doug Johnstone Scott Horner Alexandra Z. Greenbaum |
| author_sort | Marie Ygouf |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | We report observations with the JWST/NIRCam coronagraph of the Fomalhaut ( α PsA) system. This nearby A star hosts a complex debris disk system discovered by the IRAS satellite. Observations in F444W and F356W filters using the round 430R mask achieve a contrast ratio of ∼4 × 10 ^−7 at 1″ and ∼4 × 10 ^−8 outside of 3″. These observations reach a sensitivity limit of <1 M _Jup across most of the disk region. Consistent with the hypothesis that Fomalhaut b is not a massive planet but is a dust cloud from a planetesimal collision, we do not detect it in either F356W or F444W (the latter band where a Jovian-sized planet should be bright). We have reliably detected 10 sources in and around Fomalhaut and its debris disk, all but one of which are coincident with Keck or Hubble Space Telescope sources seen in earlier coronagraphic imaging; we show them to be background objects, including the “Great Dust Cloud” identified in Mid-Infrared Instrument (MIRI) data. However, one of the objects, located at the edge of the inner dust disk seen in the MIRI images, has no obvious counterpart in imaging at earlier epochs and has a relatively red [F356W]–[F444W] > 0.7 mag (Vega) color. Whether this object is a background galaxy, brown dwarf, or a Jovian-mass planet in the Fomalhaut system will be determined by an approved Cycle 2 follow-up program. Finally, we set upper limits to any scattered light from the outer ring, placing a weak limit on the dust albedo at F356W and F444W. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-08T22:06:54Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-e8ea73bc41824785850ff7fd9cb825f8 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1538-3881 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-08T22:06:54Z |
| publishDate | 2023-01-01 |
| publisher | IOP Publishing |
| record_format | Article |
| series | The Astronomical Journal |
| spelling | doaj.art-e8ea73bc41824785850ff7fd9cb825f82023-12-19T09:18:53ZengIOP PublishingThe Astronomical Journal1538-38812023-01-0116712610.3847/1538-3881/ad08c8Searching for Planets Orbiting Fomalhaut with JWST/NIRCamMarie Ygouf0https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7591-2731Charles A. Beichman1https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5627-5471Jorge Llop-Sayson2https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3414-784XGeoffrey Bryden3https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5966-837XJarron M. Leisenring4https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0834-6140András Gáspár5https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8612-3236John E. Krist6Marcia J. Rieke7https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7893-6170George H. Rieke8https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2303-6519Schuyler Grace Wolff9https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9977-8255Thomas L. Roellig10https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6730-5410Kate Su11https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3532-5580Kevin N. Hainline12https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4565-8239Klaus W. Hodapp13https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0786-2140Thomas P. Greene14https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8963-8056Michael R. Meyer15https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1227-3084Douglas M. Kelly16Karl Misselt17John Stansberry18https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2434-5225Martha Boyer19https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4850-9589Doug Johnstone20https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6773-459XScott Horner21https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9886-6934Alexandra Z. Greenbaum22https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7162-8036Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology , Pasadena, CA 91109, USA ; marie.ygouf@jpl.nasa.govJet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology , Pasadena, CA 91109, USA ; marie.ygouf@jpl.nasa.gov; NASA Exoplanet Science Institute , IPAC, Pasadena, CA 91125, USAJet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology , Pasadena, CA 91109, USA ; marie.ygouf@jpl.nasa.gov; Department of Astronomy, California Institute of Technology , 1200 E. California Boulevard, Pasadena, CA 91125, USAJet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology , Pasadena, CA 91109, USA ; marie.ygouf@jpl.nasa.govSteward Observatory and the Department of Astronomy, The University of Arizona , 933 N Cherry Avenue, Tucson, AZ 85721, USASteward Observatory and the Department of Astronomy, The University of Arizona , 933 N Cherry Avenue, Tucson, AZ 85721, USAJet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology , Pasadena, CA 91109, USA ; marie.ygouf@jpl.nasa.govSteward Observatory and the Department of Astronomy, The University of Arizona , 933 N Cherry Avenue, Tucson, AZ 85721, USASteward Observatory and the Department of Astronomy, The University of Arizona , 933 N Cherry Avenue, Tucson, AZ 85721, USASteward Observatory and the Department of Astronomy, The University of Arizona , 933 N Cherry Avenue, Tucson, AZ 85721, USANASA Ames Research Center , Space Science and Astrobiology Division, MS 245-6, Moffett Field, CA 94035, USASteward Observatory and the Department of Astronomy, The University of Arizona , 933 N Cherry Avenue, Tucson, AZ 85721, USASteward Observatory and the Department of Astronomy, The University of Arizona , 933 N Cherry Avenue, Tucson, AZ 85721, USAUniversity of Hawaii , Institute for Astronomy, 640 N. A'ohoku Place, Hilo, HI 96720, USANASA Ames Research Center , Space Science and Astrobiology Division, MS 245-6, Moffett Field, CA 94035, USADepartment of Astronomy, University of Michigan , Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USASteward Observatory and the Department of Astronomy, The University of Arizona , 933 N Cherry Avenue, Tucson, AZ 85721, USASteward Observatory and the Department of Astronomy, The University of Arizona , 933 N Cherry Avenue, Tucson, AZ 85721, USASpace Telescope Science Institute , 3700 San Martin Drive, Baltimore, MD 21218, USASpace Telescope Science Institute , 3700 San Martin Drive, Baltimore, MD 21218, USANRC Herzberg Astronomy and Astrophysics , 5071 West Saanich Road, Victoria, BC, V9E 2E7, Canada; Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Victoria , Victoria, BC, V8P 5C2, CanadaNASA Ames Research Center , Space Science and Astrobiology Division, MS 245-6, Moffett Field, CA 94035, USAIPAC, California Institute of Technology , 1200 E. California Boulevard, Pasadena, CA 91125, USAWe report observations with the JWST/NIRCam coronagraph of the Fomalhaut ( α PsA) system. This nearby A star hosts a complex debris disk system discovered by the IRAS satellite. Observations in F444W and F356W filters using the round 430R mask achieve a contrast ratio of ∼4 × 10 ^−7 at 1″ and ∼4 × 10 ^−8 outside of 3″. These observations reach a sensitivity limit of <1 M _Jup across most of the disk region. Consistent with the hypothesis that Fomalhaut b is not a massive planet but is a dust cloud from a planetesimal collision, we do not detect it in either F356W or F444W (the latter band where a Jovian-sized planet should be bright). We have reliably detected 10 sources in and around Fomalhaut and its debris disk, all but one of which are coincident with Keck or Hubble Space Telescope sources seen in earlier coronagraphic imaging; we show them to be background objects, including the “Great Dust Cloud” identified in Mid-Infrared Instrument (MIRI) data. However, one of the objects, located at the edge of the inner dust disk seen in the MIRI images, has no obvious counterpart in imaging at earlier epochs and has a relatively red [F356W]–[F444W] > 0.7 mag (Vega) color. Whether this object is a background galaxy, brown dwarf, or a Jovian-mass planet in the Fomalhaut system will be determined by an approved Cycle 2 follow-up program. Finally, we set upper limits to any scattered light from the outer ring, placing a weak limit on the dust albedo at F356W and F444W.https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-3881/ad08c8ExoplanetsHigh contrast techniquesDirect imagingCoronagraphic imagingCircumstellar disksInfrared photometry |
| spellingShingle | Marie Ygouf Charles A. Beichman Jorge Llop-Sayson Geoffrey Bryden Jarron M. Leisenring András Gáspár John E. Krist Marcia J. Rieke George H. Rieke Schuyler Grace Wolff Thomas L. Roellig Kate Su Kevin N. Hainline Klaus W. Hodapp Thomas P. Greene Michael R. Meyer Douglas M. Kelly Karl Misselt John Stansberry Martha Boyer Doug Johnstone Scott Horner Alexandra Z. Greenbaum Searching for Planets Orbiting Fomalhaut with JWST/NIRCam The Astronomical Journal Exoplanets High contrast techniques Direct imaging Coronagraphic imaging Circumstellar disks Infrared photometry |
| title | Searching for Planets Orbiting Fomalhaut with JWST/NIRCam |
| title_full | Searching for Planets Orbiting Fomalhaut with JWST/NIRCam |
| title_fullStr | Searching for Planets Orbiting Fomalhaut with JWST/NIRCam |
| title_full_unstemmed | Searching for Planets Orbiting Fomalhaut with JWST/NIRCam |
| title_short | Searching for Planets Orbiting Fomalhaut with JWST/NIRCam |
| title_sort | searching for planets orbiting fomalhaut with jwst nircam |
| topic | Exoplanets High contrast techniques Direct imaging Coronagraphic imaging Circumstellar disks Infrared photometry |
| url | https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-3881/ad08c8 |
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