Detecting and characterizing close-in exoplanets with vortex fiber nulling

Echeverri, Daniel; Ruane, Garreth; Calvin, Benjamin; Jovanović, Nemanja; Delorme, Jacques-Robert; Wang, Jason; Millar‐Blanchaer, Maxwell A.; Mawet, Dimitri; Serabyn, Eugene; Wallace, J. Kent; Martin, Stefan

doi:10.1117/12.2563142

Cited by 12 publications

(20 citation statements)

References 23 publications

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“…The broadband ability of our ADC will allow for multiple different science cases for KPIC. 10,17 The biggest remaining area of concern for our ADC is the uncertainty in models for DAR, and the fact the current models have not been validated empirically at these wavelengths at this level of precision. In particular, L-band is the most sensitive to changing atmospheric conditions, and but changes in DAR due to changes in humidity have not been measured empirically.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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An Atmospheric Dispersion Corrector Design with Milliarcsecond-Level Precision from 1 to 4 microns for High Dispersion Coronagraphy

Wang¹,

Wallace²,

Jovanović³

et al. 2020

Preprint

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Differential atmospheric refraction (DAR) limits the amount of light that can be coupled into a single mode fiber and provides additional complications for any fiber tracking system. We present an atmospheric dispersion corrector (ADC) design based off of two counter-rotating prisms to fit the needs of exoplanet spectroscopy for the Keck Planet Imager and Characterizer (KPIC) from 1.1 to 4.2 microns. Due to strong telluric effects, we find that the default Zemax prescription for DAR between 2 and 4.2 microns to be inaccurate up to 15 mas when comparing against DAR models computed from first principles. Using first-principle models, we developed our own custom ADC optimization solution and achieve less than 4 mas residual dispersion in any individual science band (J, K, L) down to 60 degree zenith angles, while the whole time maintaining less than 3 mas of residual dispersion in the tracking band (H) and less than 2 mas of residual dispersion between the tracking and science bands.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In both of these cases the requirement is 0.1 λ/D for both parameters. The J-band requirements are set by sensitivity requirements for the Vortex Fiber Nulling (VFN), 16,17 with tolerances of 0.01 λ/D for both the PTV dispersion in the J-band and the median offset between J and H bands.…”

Section: Design Requirementsmentioning

confidence: 99%

An Atmospheric Dispersion Corrector Design with Milliarcsecond-Level Precision from 1 to 4 microns for High Dispersion Coronagraphy

Wang¹,

Wallace²,

Jovanović³

et al. 2020

Preprint

Self Cite

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“…We previously reported null depths of 4.5 × 10 −4 with simultaneous peak planet coupling efficiencies of 4.5% in 10% bandwidth light. 16,17 Those results were centered around 790 nm light since that produced the deepest nulls. However, we found at the time that based on the amount of wavefront error in our system, we should have been able to achieve better null depths.…”

Section: Broadband Validationmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…We used this same testbed before to demonstrate excellent VFN performance in monochromatic light including null depths of about 5 × 10 −5 with both charge 1 and charge 2 vortex masks. 14,16 We didn't use the circular polarizer and analyzer for those experiments since, in monochromatic light, we have enough degrees of freedom in moving the vortex and SMF to achieve deep nulls regardless of leakage from the vortex mask. However, for the broadband experiments we found that we were limited by chromatic leakage from the vector vortex mask so adding the polarizers let us work in a single circular polarization state as described in Sec.…”

Section: Laboratory Setupmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The next step is to build the Polychromatic Reflective Testbed (PoRT) as described in a previous proceedings paper. 16 PoRT provides several improvements over the current testbed including that it uses higher-quality reflective optics that will make the system performance less wavelength-dependent, allowing us to use the same system for both visible and nearinfrared experiments. We will first repeat the visible broadband experiments on PoRT to validate the system before quickly moving on to K-band (2.0-2.4 um) experiments.…”

Section: Next Steps In-labmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Broadband vortex fiber nulling: high-dispersion exoplanet science at the diffraction limit

Echeverri¹,

Ruane²,

Jovanović

et al. 2021

Techniques and Instrumentation for Detection of Exoplanets X

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As the number of confirmed exoplanets continues to grow, there is an increased push to spectrally characterize them to determine their atmospheric composition, formation paths, rotation rates, and habitability. However, there is a large population of known exoplanets that either do not transit their star or have been detected via the radial velocity (RV) method at very small angular separations such that they are inaccessible to traditional coronagraph systems. Vortex Fiber Nulling (VFN) is a new single-aperture interferometric technique that uses the entire telescope pupil to bridge the gap between traditional coronagraphy and RV or Transit methods by enabling the direct observation and spectral characterization of targets at and within the diffraction limit. By combining a vortex mask with a single mode fiber, the on-axis starlight is rejected while the off-axis planet light is coupled and efficiently routed to a radiometer or spectrograph for analysis. We have demonstrated VFN in the lab monochromatically in the past. In this paper we present a polychromatic validation of VFN with nulls of < 10 −4 across 15% bandwidth light. We also provide an update on deployment plans and predicted yield estimates for the VFN mode of the Keck Planet Imager and Characterizer (KPIC) instrument. Using PSISIM, a simulation package developed in cooperation with several groups, we assess KPIC VFN's ability to detect and characterize different types of targets including planet candidates around promising young-moving-group stars as well as known exoplanets detected via the RV method. The KPIC VFN on-sky demonstration will pave the road to deployment on future instruments such as Keck-HISPEC and TMT-MODHIS where it could provide high-resolution spectra of sub-Jupiter mass planets down to 5 milliarcseconds from their star.

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Planet search with the Keck/NIRC2 vortex coronagraph in the M_s band for Vega

Ren

Wallack

Hurt

et al. 2023

A&A

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Context. Gaps in circumstellar disks can signal the existence of planetary perturbers, making such systems preferred targets for direct imaging observations of exoplanets. Aims. Being one of the brightest and closest stars to the Sun, the photometric standard star Vega hosts a two-belt debris disk structure. Together with the fact that its planetary system is being viewed nearly face-on, Vega has been one of the prime targets for planet imaging efforts. Methods. Using the vector vortex coronagraph on Keck/NIRC2 in the Ms band at 4.67 μm, we report the planet detection limits from 1 au to 22 au for Vega with an on-target time of 1.8 h. Results. We reach a 3 MJupiter limit outward of 12 au, which is nearly an order of magnitude deeper than for other existing studies. Combining our observations with existing radial velocity studies, we can confidently rule out the existence of companions more than ~8 MJupiter from 22 au down to 0.1 au for Vega. Interior and exterior to ~4 au, this combined approach reaches planet detection limits down to ~2–3 MJupiter using radial velocity and direct imaging, respectively. Conclusions. By reaching multi-Jupiter mass detection limits, our results are expected to be complemented by the planet imaging of Vega in the upcoming observations using the James Webb Space Telescope to obtain a more holistic understanding of the planetary system configuration around Vega.

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Detecting and characterizing close-in exoplanets with vortex fiber nulling

Cited by 12 publications

References 23 publications

An Atmospheric Dispersion Corrector Design with Milliarcsecond-Level Precision from 1 to 4 microns for High Dispersion Coronagraphy

An Atmospheric Dispersion Corrector Design with Milliarcsecond-Level Precision from 1 to 4 microns for High Dispersion Coronagraphy

Broadband vortex fiber nulling: high-dispersion exoplanet science at the diffraction limit

Planet search with the Keck/NIRC2 vortex coronagraph in the M_s band for Vega

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Detecting and characterizing close-in exoplanets with vortex fiber nulling

Cited by 12 publications

References 23 publications

An Atmospheric Dispersion Corrector Design with Milliarcsecond-Level Precision from 1 to 4 microns for High Dispersion Coronagraphy

An Atmospheric Dispersion Corrector Design with Milliarcsecond-Level Precision from 1 to 4 microns for High Dispersion Coronagraphy

Broadband vortex fiber nulling: high-dispersion exoplanet science at the diffraction limit

Planet search with the Keck/NIRC2 vortex coronagraph in the Ms band for Vega

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Planet search with the Keck/NIRC2 vortex coronagraph in the M_s band for Vega