First light of the 6.5-m MMT adaptive optics system

Wildi, F.; Brusa, Guido; Lloyd‐Hart, Michael; Close, Laird M.; Riccardi, Armando

doi:10.1117/12.507687

Cited by 50 publications

(32 citation statements)

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“…MMTAO is the 6.5 m MMT's deformable secondary adaptive optics system (e.g., Lloyd-Hart 2000; Wildi et al 2003;Brusa et al 2004). BLINC-MIRAC4 (Bracewell Infrared Nulling Cryostat; Mid-IR Array Camera, Gen. 4) is a combined AO-optimized mid-IR imager (MIRAC4) and nulling interferometer (BLINC), which for these observations, is used in its "imaging" mode.…”

Section: Mmtao/blinc-mirac4 Ao Spectramentioning

confidence: 99%

ISM DUST GRAINS ANDN-BAND SPECTRAL VARIABILITY IN THE SPATIALLY RESOLVED SUBARCSECOND BINARY UY Aur^,^,

Skemer¹,

Close²,

Hinz³

et al. 2010

ApJ

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The 10 μm silicate feature is an essential diagnostic of dust-grain growth and planet formation in young circumstellar disks. The Spitzer Space Telescope has revolutionized the study of this feature, but due to its small (85 cm) aperture, it cannot spatially resolve small/medium-separation binaries ( 3 ; 420 AU) at the distances of the nearest star-forming regions (∼140 pc). Large, 6-10 m ground-based telescopes with midinfrared instruments can resolve these systems. In this paper, we spatially resolve the 0. 88 binary, UY Aur, with MMTAO/BLINC-MIRAC4 mid-infrared spectroscopy. We then compare our spectra to Spitzer/IRS (unresolved) spectroscopy, and resolved images from IRTF/MIRAC2, Keck/OSCIR, and Gemini/Michelle, which were taken over the past decade. We find that UY Aur A has extremely pristine, interstellar medium (ISM)-like grains and that UY Aur B has an unusually shaped silicate feature, which is probably the result of blended emission and absorption from foreground extinction in its disk. We also find evidence for variability in both UY Aur A and UY Aur B by comparing synthetic photometry from our spectra with resolved imaging from previous epochs. The photometric variability of UY Aur A could be an indication that the silicate emission itself is variable, as was recently found in EX Lupi. Otherwise, the thermal continuum is variable, and either the ISM-like dust has never evolved, or it is being replenished, perhaps by UY Aur's circumbinary disk.

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Section: Mmtao/blinc-mirac4 Ao Spectramentioning

confidence: 99%

ISM DUST GRAINS ANDN-BAND SPECTRAL VARIABILITY IN THE SPATIALLY RESOLVED SUBARCSECOND BINARY UY Aur^,^,

Skemer¹,

Close²,

Hinz³

et al. 2010

ApJ

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“…HR 8799 was observed on 21 November 2008, 8 January 2009, and 12 September 2009, using the MMT deformable secondary-based adaptive optics system (Wildi et al 2003;Brusa et al 2004). Cirrus clouds intermittently affected the throughput of the observations on 21 November 2008, and 12 September 2009.…”

Section: Observationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Thermal Infrared Mmtao Observations of the Hr 8799 Planetary System

Hinz

Rodigas

Kenworthy

et al. 2010

ApJ

121

157

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We present direct imaging observations at wavelengths of 3.3, 3.8 (L ′ band), and 4.8 (M band) µm, for the planetary system surrounding HR 8799. All three planets are detected at L ′ . The c and d component are detected at 3.3 µm, and upper limits are derived from the M band observations. These observations provide useful constraints on warm giant planet atmospheres. We discuss the current age constraints on the HR 8799 system, and show that several potential co-eval objects can be excluded from being co-moving with the star. Comparison of the photometry is made to models for giant planet atmospheres. Models which include non-equilibrium chemistry provide a reasonable match to the colors of c and d. From the observed colors in the thermal infrared we estimate T eff < 960 K for b, and T eff =1300 and 1170 K for c and d, respectively. This provides an independent check on the effective temperatures and thus masses of the objects from the Marois et al. (2008) results.

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“…We observed IRC +10216 at two epochs separated by approximately one year, using the fourth generation Mid-Infrared Array Camera (MIRAC4), fed by the MMT Adaptive Optics (MMTAO) thermally efficient adaptive secondary mirror (Wildi et al 2003). Infrared light first passes through the Bracewell Infrared Nulling Cryostat (BLINC; Hinz et al 2000), 5 with visible light being reflected to the visible wavelength wave front sensor (WFS) of the AO system.…”

Section: Observations and Data Reductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

FOUR DECADES OF IRC +10216: EVOLUTION OF A CARBON-RICH DUST SHELL RESOLVED AT 10 μm WITH MMT ADAPTIVE OPTICS AND MIRAC4^,^,

Males

Skemer

et al. 2011

ApJ

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The evolved carbon-rich asymptotic giant branch star IRC +10216 (CW Leo) is the brightest mid-infrared source outside the solar system, as well as one of the closest examples of an evolved star losing mass. It has a complex and variable circumstellar structure on small scales in the near-infrared, and mid-infrared interferometry has revealed a dynamic dust formation zone. We have obtained diffraction-limited imaging and grism spectroscopy of IRC +10216 at the 6.5 m MMT in the N band (∼8-13 μm). These new observations show that a change has occurred in the dust shell surrounding IRC +10216 over the last two decades, which is illustrated by a change in the apparent shape of the well-known SiC spectral feature at ∼11 μm and a reduction in the continuum at 13 μm. As expected, our diffraction-limited spatial information shows an extended circumstellar envelope. We also demonstrate that the dusty envelope appears to be ∼30% larger at the wavelengths of the SiC feature, likely due to the increased opacity of SiC. The deconvolved full width at half-maximum of the object increases from 0. 43 (∼56 AU) for λ < 10 μm to 0. 58 (∼75 AU) at 11.8 μm, then decreases to 0. 5 (∼65 AU) at 12.7 μm. Our estimates of IRC +10216's size allow us to plausibly tie the change in the spectrum over the last 12.5 years to the evolution of the dusty circumstellar envelope at speeds of 12-17 km s −1 .

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First light of the 6.5-m MMT adaptive optics system

Cited by 50 publications

References 5 publications

ISM DUST GRAINS ANDN-BAND SPECTRAL VARIABILITY IN THE SPATIALLY RESOLVED SUBARCSECOND BINARY UY Aur^,^,

ISM DUST GRAINS ANDN-BAND SPECTRAL VARIABILITY IN THE SPATIALLY RESOLVED SUBARCSECOND BINARY UY Aur^,^,

Thermal Infrared Mmtao Observations of the Hr 8799 Planetary System

FOUR DECADES OF IRC +10216: EVOLUTION OF A CARBON-RICH DUST SHELL RESOLVED AT 10 μm WITH MMT ADAPTIVE OPTICS AND MIRAC4^,^,

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First light of the 6.5-m MMT adaptive optics system

Cited by 50 publications

References 5 publications

ISM DUST GRAINS ANDN-BAND SPECTRAL VARIABILITY IN THE SPATIALLY RESOLVED SUBARCSECOND BINARY UY Aur,,

ISM DUST GRAINS ANDN-BAND SPECTRAL VARIABILITY IN THE SPATIALLY RESOLVED SUBARCSECOND BINARY UY Aur,,

Thermal Infrared Mmtao Observations of the Hr 8799 Planetary System

FOUR DECADES OF IRC +10216: EVOLUTION OF A CARBON-RICH DUST SHELL RESOLVED AT 10 μm WITH MMT ADAPTIVE OPTICS AND MIRAC4,,

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ISM DUST GRAINS ANDN-BAND SPECTRAL VARIABILITY IN THE SPATIALLY RESOLVED SUBARCSECOND BINARY UY Aur^,^,

ISM DUST GRAINS ANDN-BAND SPECTRAL VARIABILITY IN THE SPATIALLY RESOLVED SUBARCSECOND BINARY UY Aur^,^,

FOUR DECADES OF IRC +10216: EVOLUTION OF A CARBON-RICH DUST SHELL RESOLVED AT 10 μm WITH MMT ADAPTIVE OPTICS AND MIRAC4^,^,