Context. HR 4796 A is surrounded by a debris disc, observed in scattered light as an inclined ring with a high surface brightness. Past observations have raised several questions. First, a strong brightness asymmetry detected in polarised reflected light has recently challenged our understanding of scattering by the dust particles in this system. Secondly, the morphology of the ring strongly suggests the presence of planets, although no planets have been detected to date. Aims. We aim here at measuring with high accuracy the morphology and photometry of the ring in scattered light, in order to derive the phase function of the dust and constrain its near-infrared spectral properties. We also want to constrain the presence of planets and set improved constraints on the origin of the observed ring morphology. Methods. We obtained high-angular resolution coronagraphic images of the circumstellar environment around HR 4796 A with VLT/SPHERE during the commissioning of the instrument in May 2014 and during guaranteed-time observations in February 2015. The observations reveal for the first time the entire ring of dust, including the semi-minor axis that was previously hidden either behind the coronagraphic spot or in the speckle noise. Results. We determine empirically the scattering phase function of the dust in the H band from 13.6 • to 166.6 •. It shows a prominent peak of forward scattering, never detected before, for scattering angles below 30 •. We analyse the reflectance spectra of the disc from the 0.95 µm to 1.6 µm, confirming the red colour of the dust, and derive detection limits on the presence of planetary mass objects. Conclusions. We confirm which side of the disc is inclined towards the Earth. The analysis of the phase function, especially below 45 • , suggests that the dust population is dominated by particles much larger than the observation wavelength, of about 20 µm. Compact Mie grains of this size are incompatible with the spectral energy distribution of the disc, however the observed rise in scattering efficiency beyond 50 • points towards aggregates which could reconcile both observables. We do not detect companions orbiting the star, but our high-contrast observations provide the most stringent constraints yet on the presence of planets responsible for the morphology of the dust.

Context. R Aqr is a symbiotic binary system consisting of a mira variable, a hot companion with a spectacular jet outflow, and an extended emission line nebula. Because of its proximity to the Sun, this object has been studied in much detail with many types of high resolution imaging and interferometric techniques. We have used R Aqr as test target for the visual camera subsystem ZIMPOL, which is part of the new extreme adaptive optics (AO) instrument SPHERE at the Very Large Telescope (VLT). Aims. We describe SPHERE/ZIMPOL test observations of the R Aqr system taken in Hα and other filters in order to demonstrate the exceptional performance of this high resolution instrument. We compare our observations with data from the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) and illustrate the complementarity of the two instruments. We use our data for a detailed characterization of the inner jet region of R Aqr. Methods. We analyze the high resolution ≈25 mas images from SPHERE/ZIMPOL and determine from the Hα emission the position, size, geometric structure, and line fluxes of the jet source and the clouds in the innermost region <2 (<400 AU) of R Aqr. The data are compared to simultaneous HST line filter observations. The Hα fluxes and the measured sizes of the clouds yield Hα emissivities for many clouds from which one can derive the mean density, mass, recombination time scale, and other cloud parameters. for the "outer" clouds around 300 AU, N e ≈ 3 × 10 6 cm −3 for the "inner" clouds around 50 AU, and even higher for the central jet source. The high N e of the clouds implies short recombination or variability timescales of a year or shorter. Conclusions. Hα high resolution data provide a lot of diagnostic information for the ionized jet gas in R Aqr. Future Hα observations will provide the orientation of the orbital plane of the binary and allow detailed hydrodynamical investigations of this jet outflow and its interaction with the wind of the red giant companion.

We present scattered light images of the TW Hya disk performed with SPHERE in PDI mode at 0.63, 0.79, 1.24 and 1.62 µm. We also present H2/H3-band ADI observations. Three distinct radial depressions in the polarized intensity distribution are seen, around ≈ 85, ≈ 21, and 6 au 1 . The overall intensity distribution has a high degree of azimuthal symmetry; the disk is somewhat brighter than average towards the South and darker towards the North-West. The ADI observations yielded no signifiant detection of point sources in the disk.Our observations have a linear spatial resolution of 1 to 2 au, similar to that of recent ALMA dust continuum observations. The sub-micron sized dust grains that dominate the light scattering in the disk surface are strongly coupled to the gas. We created a radiative transfer disk model with self-consistent temperature and vertical structure iteration and including grain size-dependent dust settling. This method may provide independent constraints on the gas distribution at higher spatial resolution than is feasible with ALMA gas line observations.We find that the gas surface density in the "gaps" is reduced by ≈ 50% to ≈ 80% relative to an unperturbed model. Should embedded planets be responsible for carving the gaps then their masses are at most a few 10 M ⊕ . The observed gaps are wider, with shallower flanks, than expected for planetdisk interaction with such low-mass planets. If forming planetary bodies have undergone collapse and are in the "detached phase", then they may be directly observable with future facilities such as METIS at the E-ELT. 1 Throughout this work we have assumed a distance of 54 pc to TW Hya. This is ≈ 10% less than the new GAIA distance of 59.5 +0.96 −0.93 pc (Gaia Collaboration et al. 2016). We discuss the implications of the new, somewhat larger distance in Section 5.5.3.

LkCa 15 hosts a pre-transitional disk as well as at least one accreting protoplanet orbiting in its gap. Previous disk observations have focused mainly on the outer disk, which is cleared inward of ∼50 au. The planet candidates, on the other hand, reside at orbital radii around 15 au, where disk observations have been unreliable until recently. Here we present new J-band imaging polarimetry of LkCa 15 with SPHERE IRDIS, yielding the most accurate and detailed scattered-light images of the disk to date down to the planet-hosting inner regions. We find what appear to be persistent asymmetric structures in the scattering material at the location of the planet candidates, which could be responsible at least for parts of the signals measured with sparse-aperture masking. These images further allow us to trace the gap edge in scattered light at all position angles and search the inner and outer disks for morphological substructure. The outer disk appears smooth with slight azimuthal variations in polarized surface brightness, which may be due to shadowing from the inner disk or a two-peaked polarized phase function. We find that the near-side gap edge revealed by polarimetry matches the sharp crescent seen in previous ADI imaging very well. Finally, the ratio of polarized disk to stellar flux is more than six times larger in J-band than in the RI bands.

Context. Debris disks are observed around 10 to 20 % of FGK main-sequence stars as infrared excess emission. They are important signposts for the presence of colliding planetesimals and therefore provide important information about the evolution of planetary systems. Direct imaging of such disks reveals their geometric structure and constrains their dust-particle properties. Aims. We present observations of the known edge-on debris disk around HIP 79977 (HD 146897) taken with the ZIMPOL differential polarimeter of the SPHERE instrument. We measure the observed polarization signal and investigate the diagnostic potential of such data with model simulations.Methods. SPHERE-ZIMPOL polarimetric data of the 15 Myr-old F star HIP 79977 (Upper Sco, 123 pc) were taken in the Very Broad Band (VBB) filter (λ c = 735 nm, ∆λ = 290 nm) with a spatial resolution of about 25 mas. Imaging polarimetry efficiently suppresses the residual speckle noise from the AO system and provides a differential signal with relatively small systematic measuring uncertainties. We measure the polarization flux along and perpendicular to the disk spine of the highly inclined disk for projected separations between 0.2 (25 AU) and 1.6 (200 AU). We perform model calculations for the polarized flux of an optically thin debris disk which are used to determine or constrain the disk parameters of HIP 79977. Results. We measure a polarized flux contrast ratio for the disk of (F pol ) disk /F * = (5.5 ± 0.9) · 10 −4 in the VBB filter. The surface brightness of the polarized flux reaches a maximum of SB max = 16.2 mag arcsec −2 at a separation of 0.2 − 0.5 along the disk spine with a maximum surface brightness contrast of 7.64 mag arcsec −2 . The polarized flux has a minimum near the star < 0.2 because no or only little polarization is produced by forward or backward scattering in the disk section lying in front of or behind the star. The width of the disk perpendicular to the spine shows a systematic increase in FWHM from 0.1 (12 AU) to 0.3 − 0.5 , when going from a separation of 0.2 to > 1 . This can be explained by a radial blow-out of small grains. The data are modelled as a circular dust belt with a well defined disk inclination i = 85(±1.5) • and a radius between r 0 = 60 and 90 AU. The radial density dependence is described by (r/r 0 ) α with a steep (positive) power law index α = 5 inside r 0 and a more shallow (negative) index α = −2.5 outside r 0 . The scattering asymmetry factor lies between g = 0.2 and 0.6 (forward scattering) adopting a scattering-angle dependence for the fractional polarization such as that for Rayleigh scattering. Conclusions. Polarimetric imaging with SPHERE-ZIMPOL of the edge-on debris disk around HIP 79977 provides accurate profiles for the polarized flux. Our data are qualitatively very similar to the case of AU Mic and they confirm that edge-on debris disks have a polarization minimum at a position near the star and a maximum near the projected separation of the main debris belt. The comparison of the polarized flux contr...

We present the direct imaging discovery of an extrasolar planet, or possible low-mass brown dwarf, at a projected separation of 55 ± 2 AU (1. 058 ± 0. 007) from the B9-type star κ And. The planet was detected with Subaru/HiCIAO during the SEEDS survey and confirmed as a bound companion via common proper motion measurements. Observed near-infrared magnitudes of J = 16.3 ± 0.3, H = 15.2 ± 0.2, K s = 14.6 ± 0.4, and L = 13.12 ± 0.09 indicate a temperature of ∼1700 K. The galactic kinematics of the host star are consistent with membership in the Columba Association, implying a corresponding age of 30 +20 −10 Myr. The system's age, combined with the companion photometry, points to a model-dependent companion mass ∼12.8 M Jup. The host star's estimated mass of 2.4-2.5 M places it among the most massive stars ever known to harbor an extrasolar planet or low-mass brown dwarf. While the mass of the companion is close to the deuterium burning limit, its mass ratio, orbital separation, and likely planet-like formation scenario imply that it may be best defined as a "super-Jupiter" with properties similar to other recently discovered companions to massive stars.

Context. The SAO 206462 (HD 135344B) disk is one of the few known transitional disks showing asymmetric features in scattered light and thermal emission. Near-infrared scattered-light images revealed two bright outer spiral arms and an inner cavity depleted in dust. Giant protoplanets have been proposed to account for the disk morphology. Aims. We aim to search for giant planets responsible for the disk features and, in the case of non-detection, to constrain recent planet predictions using the data detection limits. Methods. We obtained new high-contrast and high-resolution total intensity images of the target spanning the Y to the K bands (0.95-2.3 µm) using the VLT/SPHERE near-infrared camera and integral field spectrometer. Results. The spiral arms and the outer cavity edge are revealed at high resolutions and sensitivities without the need for aggressive image postprocessing techniques, which introduce photometric biases. We do not detect any close-in companions. For the derivation of the detection limits on putative giant planets embedded in the disk, we show that the knowledge of the disk aspect ratio and viscosity is critical for the estimation of the attenuation of a planet signal by the protoplanetary dust because of the gaps that these putative planets may open. Given assumptions on these parameters, the mass limits can vary from ∼2-5 to ∼4-7 Jupiter masses at separations beyond the disk spiral arms. The SPHERE detection limits are more stringent than those derived from archival NaCo/L data and provide new constraints on a few recent predictions of massive planets (4-15 M J ) based on the spiral density wave theory. The SPHERE and ALMA data do not favor the hypotheses on massive giant planets in the outer disk (beyond 0.6 ). There could still be low-mass planets in the outer disk and/or planets inside the cavity.

Context. The SPHERE "planet finder" is an extreme adaptive optics (AO) instrument for high resolution and high contrast observations at the Very Large Telescope (VLT). We describe the Zurich Imaging Polarimeter (ZIMPOL), the visual focal plane subsystem of SPHERE, which pushes the limits of current AO systems to shorter wavelengths, higher spatial resolution, and much improved polarimetric performance. Aims. We present a detailed characterization of SPHERE/ZIMPOL which should be useful for an optimal planning of observations and for improving the data reduction and calibration. We aim to provide new benchmarks for the performance of high contrast instruments, in particular for polarimetric differential imaging. Methods. We have analyzed SPHERE/ZIMPOL point spread functions (PSFs) and measure the normalized peak surface brightness, the encircled energy, and the full width half maximum (FWHM) for different wavelengths, atmospheric conditions, star brightness, and instrument modes. Coronagraphic images are described and the peak flux attenuation and the off-axis flux transmission are determined. Simultaneous images of the coronagraphic focal plane and the pupil plane are analyzed and the suppression of the diffraction rings by the pupil stop is investigated. We compared the performance at small separation for different coronagraphs with tests for the binary α Hyi with a separation of 92 mas and a contrast of ∆m ≈ 6 m . For the polarimetric mode we made the instrument calibrations using zero polarization and high polarization standard stars and here we give a recipe for the absolute calibration of polarimetric data. The data show small (<1 mas) but disturbing differential polarimetric beam shifts, which can be explained as Goos-Hähnchen shifts from the inclined mirrors, and we discuss how to correct this effect. The polarimetric sensitivity is investigated with non-coronagraphic and deep, coronagraphic observations of the dust scattering around the symbiotic Mira variable R Aqr. Results. SPHERE/ZIMPOL reaches routinely an angular resolution (FWHM) of 22−28 mas, and a normalized peak surface brightness of SB 0 − m star ≈ −6.5 m arcsec −2 for the V-, R-and I-band. The AO performance is worse for mediocre 1.0 seeing conditions, faint stars m R 9 m , or in the presence of the "low wind" effect (telescope seeing). The coronagraphs are effective in attenuating the PSF peak by factors of >100, and the suppression of the diffracted light improves the contrast performance by a factor of approximately two in the separation range 0.06 −0.20 . The polarimetric sensitivity is ∆p < 0.01% and the polarization zero point can be calibrated to better than ∆p ≈ 0.1%. The contrast limits for differential polarimetric imaging for the 400 s I-band data of R Aqr at a separation of ρ = 0.86 are for the surface brightness contrast SB pol ( ρ)−m star ≈ 8 m arcsec −2 and for the point source contrast m pol ( ρ)−m star ≈ 15 m and much lower limits are achievable with deeper observations. Conclusions. SPHERE/ZIMPOL achieves imaging performances ...