Imaging protoplanets: observing transition disks with non-redundant masking

Abstract

Transition disks, protoplanetary disks with inner clearings, are promising objects in which to directly image forming planets. The high contrast imaging technique of non-redundant masking is well posed to detect planetary mass companions at several to tens of AU in nearby transition disks. We present non-redundant masking observations of the T Cha and LkCa 15 transition disks, both of which host posited sub-stellar mass companions. However, due to a loss of information intrinsic to the technique, observations of extended sources (e.g. scattered light from disks) can be misinterpreted as moving companions. We discuss tests to distinguish between these two scenarios, with applications to the T Cha and LkCa 15 observations. We argue that a static, forward-scattering disk can explain the T Cha data, while LkCa 15 is best explained by multiple orbiting companions.

arXiv commentSPIE conference proceeding

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Cited by in corpus (8)

• No Clear, Direct Evidence for Multiple Protoplanets Orbiting LkCa 15: LkCa 15 bcd are Likely Inner Disk Signals
• The Giant Accreting Protoplanet Survey (GAPlanetS) -- Results from a Six Year Campaign to Image Accreting Protoplanets
• High-Resolution Near Infrared Spectroscopy of HD~100546: IV. Orbiting Companion Disappears on Schedule
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• Systematic Multi-Epoch Monitoring of LkCa 15: Dynamic Dust Structures on Solar-System Scales
• Herschel PACS observations of 4-10 Myr old Classical T Tauri stars in Orion OB1
• Data Reduction and Image Reconstruction Techniques for Non-Redundant Masking
• New Spatially Resolved Imaging of the SR 21 Transition Disk and Constraints on the Small-Grain Disk Geometry