Deep imaging search for planets forming in the TW hya protoplanetary disk with the Keck/NIRC2 Vortex Coronagraph

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

1-1-2017

Publication Title

Astronomical Journal

Volume

154

Issue

2

Abstract

Distinct gap features in the nearest protoplanetary disk, TW Hya (distance of 59.5 0.9 pc), may be signposts of ongoing planet formation. We performed long-exposure thermal infrared coronagraphic imaging observations to search for accreting planets, especially within dust gaps previously detected in scattered light and submillimeter-wave thermal emission. Three nights of observations with the Keck/NIRC2 vortex coronagraph in L′ (3.4-4.1 μm) did not reveal any statistically significant point sources. We thereby set strict upper limits on the masses of non-accreting planets. In the four most prominent disk gaps at 24, 41, 47, and 88 au, we obtain upper mass limits of 1.6-2.3, 1.1-1.6, 1.1-1.5, and 1.0-1.2 Jupiter masses (M J), assuming an age range of 7-10 Myr for TW Hya. These limits correspond to the contrast at 95% completeness (true positive fraction of 0.95) with a 1% chance of a false positive within 1″ of the star. We also approximate an upper limit on the product of the planet mass and planetary accretion rate of implying that any putative ∼0.1 M J planet, which could be responsible for opening the 24 au gap, is presently accreting at rates insufficient to build up a Jupiter mass within TW Hya's pre-main-sequence lifetime. © 2017. The American Astronomical Society. All rights reserved..

Language

english

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