The first H-band spectrum of the giant planet β Pictoris b

Jeffrey Chilcote, Travis Barman, Michael P. Fitzgerald, James R. Graham, James E. Larkin, Bruce Macintosh, Brian Bauman, Adam S. Burrows, Andrew Cardwell, Robert J. De Rosa, Daren Dillon, René Doyon, Jennifer Dunn, Darren Erikson, Donald Gavel, Stephen J. Goodsell, Markus Hartung, Pascale Hibon, Patrick Ingraham, Paul KalasQuinn Konopacky, Jérôme Maire, Franck Marchis, Mark S. Marley, Christian Marois, Max Millar-Blanchaer, Katie Morzinski, Andrew Norton, Rebecca Oppenheimer, David Palmer, Jennifer Patience, Marshall Perrin, Lisa Poyneer, Laurent Pueyo, Fredrik T. Rantakyrö, Naru Sadakuni, Leslie Saddlemyer, Dmitry Savransky, Andrew Serio, Anand Sivaramakrishnan, Inseok Song, Rémi Soummer, Sandrine Thomas, J. Kent Wallace, Sloane Wiktorowicz, Schuyler Wolff

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

36 Scopus citations

Abstract

Using the recently installed Gemini Planet Imager (GPI), we have obtained the first H-band spectrum of the planetary companion to the nearby young star β Pictoris. GPI is designed to image and provide low-resolution spectra of Jupiter-sized, self-luminous planetary companions around young nearby stars. These observations were taken covering the H band (1.65 μm). The spectrum has a resolving power of ∼45 and demonstrates the distinctive triangular shape of a cool substellar object with low surface gravity. Using atmospheric models, we find an effective temperature of 1600-1700K and a surface gravity of log(g) = 3.5-4.5 (cgs units). These values agree well with "hot-start" predictions from planetary evolution models for a gas giant with mass between 10 and 12 MJup and age between 10 and 20 Myr.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Article numberL3
JournalAstrophysical Journal Letters
Volume798
Issue number1
DOIs
StatePublished - Jan 1 2015

Keywords

  • Infrared: general
  • Instrumentation: adaptive optics
  • Planetary systems
  • Stars: individual (beta Pictoris)
  • Techniques: spectroscopic

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Astronomy and Astrophysics
  • Space and Planetary Science

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'The first H-band spectrum of the giant planet β Pictoris b'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this