Context. In long baseline interferometry, the raw fringe contrast must be calibrated to obtain the true visibility and then those observables that can be interpreted in terms of astrophysical parameters. The selection of suitable calibration stars is crucial for obtaining the ultimate precision of interferometric instruments like the VLTI. Potential calibrators must have spectro-photometric properties and a sky location close to those of the scientific target. Aims. We have developed software (SearchCal) that builds an evolutive catalog of stars suitable as calibrators within any given user-defined angular distance and magnitude around the scientific target. We present the first version of SearchCal dedicated to the bright-object case (V ≤ 10; K ≤ 5). Methods. Star catalogs available at the CDS are consulted via web requests. They provide all the useful information for selecting of calibrators. Missing photometries are computed with an accuracy of 0.1 mag and the missing angular diameters are calculated with a precision better than 10%. For each star the squared visibility is computed by taking the wavelength and the maximum baseline of the foreseen observation into account. Results. SearchCal is integrated into ASPRO, the interferometric observing preparation software developed by the JMMC, available at the address: http://mariotti.fr.

We present L'-band imaging of the PDS 70 planetary system with Keck/NIRC2 using the new infrared pyramid wave front sensor. We detected both PDS 70 b and c in our images, as well as the front rim of the circumstellar disk. After subtracting off a model of the disk, we measured the astrometry and photometry of both planets. Placing priors based on the dynamics of the system, we estimated PDS 70 b to have a semimajor axis of-+ 20 4 3 au and PDS 70 c to have a semimajor axis of-+ 34 6 12 au (95% credible interval). We fit the spectral energy distribution (SED) of both planets. For PDS 70 b, we were able to place better constraints on the red half of its SED than previous studies and inferred the radius of the photosphere to be 2-3R Jup. The SED of PDS 70 c is less well constrained, with a range of total luminosities spanning an order of magnitude. With our inferred radii and luminosities, we used evolutionary models of accreting protoplanets to derive a mass of PDS 70 b between 2 and 4 M Jup and a mean mass accretion rate between 3×10 −7 and 8×10 −7 M Jup /yr. For PDS 70 c, we computed a mass between 1 and 3 M Jup and mean mass accretion rate between 1×10 −7 and 5×10 −7 M Jup /yr. The mass accretion rates imply dust accretion timescales short enough to hide strong molecular absorption features in both planets' SEDs. Unified Astronomy Thesaurus concepts: Exoplanet formation (492); Exoplanet atmospheres (487); Orbit determination (1175); Exoplanet dynamics (490); Coronagraphic imaging (313);

Context. In long-baseline interferometry, images or astrophysical parameters are obtained from the raw fringe contrast after a careful calibration process. We have already developed the software (SearchCal) to select suitable bright calibration stars (V ≤ 10; K ≤ 5.0) for obtaining the ultimate precision of current interferometric instruments like the VLTI. With the expected gain in sensitivity of AMBER and PRIMA on the VLTI, the need for fainter calibrators should now be adressed. Aims. We present a new version of SearchCal dedicated to the creation of an evolving catalog of stars suitable as calibrators with K magnitude >5 around the scientific target. Methods. Star catalogs available at the CDS are searched via web requests and provide the useful astrometric and photometric informations for selecting calibrators. The missing photometries are computed with an accuracy of about 0.1 mag. The stellar angular diameter is estimated with a precision of about 10% through newly determined surface-brightness versus color-index relations based on the I, J, H and K magnitudes. For each star the squared visibility is computed taking into account the central wavelength and the maximum baseline of the predicted observations. Results. The version of SearchCal for faint objects that allows to find calibrators for interferometric observations up to K ∼ 15 is available as a web service at the address: http://www.jmmc.fr/searchcal

The Keck Planet Imager and Characterizer (KPIC) is a purpose-built instrument to demonstrate technological and instrumental concepts initially developed for the exoplanet direct imaging field. Located downstream of the current Keck II adaptive optic (AO) system, KPIC contains a fiber injection unit (FIU) capable of combining the high-contrast imaging capability of the AOs system with the high dispersion spectroscopy capability of the current Keck high resolution infrared spectrograph (NIRSPEC). Deployed at Keck in September 2018, this instrument has already been used to acquire high-resolution spectra (R > 30;000) of multiple targets of interest. In the near term, it will be used to spectrally characterize known directly imaged exoplanets and low-mass brown dwarf companions visible in the northern hemisphere with a spectral resolution high enough to enable spin and planetary radial velocity measurements as well as Doppler imaging of atmospheric weather phenomena. Here, we present the design of the FIU, the unique calibration procedures needed to operate a single-mode fiber instrument and the system performance. © The Authors. Published by SPIE under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 Unported License. Distribution or reproduction of this work in whole or in part requires full attribution of the original publication, including its DOI.

Using the Keck Planet Imager and Characterizer (KPIC), we obtained high-resolution (R∼35,000) K-band spectra of the four planets orbiting HR 8799. We clearly detected H 2 O and CO in the atmospheres of HR 8799 c, d, and e, and tentatively detected a combination of CO and H 2 O in b. These are the most challenging directly imaged exoplanets that have been observed at high spectral resolution to date when considering both their angular separations and flux ratios. We developed a forward modeling framework that allows us to jointly fit the spectra of the planets and the diffracted starlight simultaneously in a likelihood-based approach and obtained posterior probabilities on their effective temperatures, surface gravities, radial velocities, and spins. We measured v sin(i) values of

The Keck Planet Imager and Characterizer (KPIC) is a cost-effective upgrade path to the W.M. Keck observatory (WMKO) adaptive optics (AO) system, building on the lessons learned from first and second-generation extreme AO (ExAO) coronagraphs. KPIC will explore new scientific niches in exoplanet science, while maturing critical technologies and systems for future ground-based (TMT, EELT, GMT) and space-based planet imagers (HabEx, LUVOIR). The advent of fast low-noise IR cameras (IR-APD, MKIDS, electron injectors), the rapid maturing of efficient wavefront sensing (WFS) techniques (Pyramid, Zernike), small inner working angle (IWA) coronagraphs (e.g., vortex) and associated low-order wavefront sensors (LOWFS), as well as recent breakthroughs in high contrast high resolution spectroscopy, open new direct exoplanet exploration avenues that are complementary to planet imagers such as VLT-SPHERE and the Gemini Planet Imager (GPI). For instance, the search and detailed characterization of planetary systems on solar-system scales around late-type stars, mostly beyond SPHERE and GPI's reaches, can be initiated now at WMKO.Keywords: Exoplanets, high contrast imaging, high contrast high resolution spectroscopy, small inner working angle coronagraphy, vortex coronagraph, on-axis segmented telescopes, apodization, Extremely Large Telescopes

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A benchmark brown dwarf (BD) is a BD whose properties (e.g., mass and chemical composition) are precisely and independently measured. Benchmark BDs are valuable in testing theoretical evolutionary tracks, spectral synthesis, and atmospheric retrievals for substellar objects. Here, we report results of atmospheric retrieval on a synthetic spectrum and a benchmark BD, HR 7672 B, with petitRADTRANS. First, we test the retrieval framework on a synthetic PHOENIX BT-Settl spectrum with a solar composition. We show that the retrieved C and O abundances are consistent with solar values, but the retrieved C/O is overestimated by 0.13–0.18, which is about four times higher than the formal error bar. Second, we perform retrieval on HR 7672 B using high spectral-resolution data (R = 35,000) from the Keck Planet Imager and Characterizer and near-infrared photometry. We retrieve [C/H], [O/H], and C/O to be −0.24 ± 0.05, −0.19 ± 0.04, and 0.52 ± 0.02. These values are consistent with those of HR 7672 A within 1.5σ. As such, HR 7672 B is among only a few benchmark BDs (along with Gl 570 D and HD 3651 B) that have been demonstrated to have consistent elemental abundances with their primary stars. Our work provides a practical procedure of testing and performing atmospheric retrieval, and sheds light on potential systematics of future retrievals using high- and low-resolution data.