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Publications

Publications by CTM

2023

VLTI/GRAVITY Observations and Characterization of the Brown Dwarf Companion HD 72946 B

Authors
Balmer, WO; Pueyo, L; Stolker, T; Reggiani, H; Maire, AL; Lacour, S; Mollière, P; Nowak, M; Sing, D; Pourré, N; Blunt, S; Wang, JJ; Rickman, E; Kammerer, J; Henning, T; Ward-Duong, K; Abuter, R; Amorim, A; Asensio-Torres, R; Benisty, M; Berger, JP; Beust, H; Boccaletti, A; Bohn, A; Bonnefoy, M; Bonnet, H; Bourdarot, G; Brandner, W; Cantalloube, F; Caselli, P; Charnay, B; Chauvin, G; Chavez, A; Choquet, E; Christiaens, V; Clénet, Y; du Foresto, VC; Cridland, A; Dembet, R; Dexter, J; Drescher, A; Duvert, G; Eckart, A; Eisenhauer, F; Gao, F; Garcia, P; Lopez, RG; Gendron, E; Genzel, R; Gillessen, S; Girard, JH; Haubois, X; Heissel, G; Hinkley, S; Hippler, S; Horrobin, M; Houllé, M; Hubert, Z; Jocou, L; Keppler, M; Kervella, P; Kreidberg, L; Lagrange, AM; Lapeyrère, V; Le Bouquin, JB; Léna, P; Lutz, D; Monnier, JD; Mouillet, D; Nasedkin, E; Ott, T; Otten, GPPL; Paladini, C; Paumard, T; Perraut, K; Perrin, G; Pfuhl, O; Rameau, J; Rodet, L; Rousset, G; Rustamkulov, Z; Shangguan, J; Shimizu, T; Stadler, J; Straub, O; Straubmeier, C; Sturm, E; Tacconi, LJ; van Dishoeck, EF; Vigan, A; Vincent, F; von Fellenberg, SD; Widmann, F; Wieprecht, E; Wiezorrek, E; Winterhalder, T; Woillez, J; Yazici, S; Young, A;

Publication
ASTROPHYSICAL JOURNAL

Abstract
Tension remains between the observed and modeled properties of substellar objects, but objects in binary orbits, with known dynamical masses, can provide a way forward. HD 72946 B is a recently imaged brown dwarf companion to a nearby, solar-type star. We achieve similar to 100 mu as relative astrometry of HD 72946 B in the K band using VLTI/GRAVITY, unprecedented for a benchmark brown dwarf. We fit an ensemble of measurements of the orbit using orbitize! and derive a strong dynamical mass constraint M B = 69.5 +/- 0.5 M Jup assuming a strong prior on the host star mass M A = 0.97 +/- 0.01 M circle dot from an updated stellar analysis. We fit the spectrum of the companion to a grid of self-consistent BT-Settl-CIFIST model atmospheres, and perform atmospheric retrievals using petitRADTRANS. A dynamical mass prior only marginally influences the sampled distribution of effective temperature, but has a large influence on the surface gravity and radius, as expected. The dynamical mass alone does not strongly influence retrieved pressure-temperature or cloud parameters within our current retrieval setup. Independently of the cloud prescription and prior assumptions, we find agreement within +/- 2 sigma between the C/O of the host (0.52 +/- 0.05) and brown dwarf (0.43-0.63), as expected from a molecular cloud collapse formation scenario, but our retrieved metallicities are implausibly high (0.6-0.8) in light of the excellent agreement of the data with the solar-abundance model grid. Future work on our retrieval framework will seek to resolve this tension. Additional study of low surface gravity objects is necessary to assess the influence of a dynamical mass prior on atmospheric analysis.

2023

First VLTI/GRAVITY Observations of HIP 65426 b: Evidence for a Low or Moderate Orbital Eccentricity

Authors
Blunt, S; Balmer, WO; Wang, JJ; Lacour, S; Petrus, S; Bourdarot, G; Kammerer, J; Pourré, N; Rickman, E; Shangguan, J; Winterhalder, T; Abuter, R; Amorim, A; Asensio Torres, R; Benisty, M; Berger, JP; Beust, H; Boccaletti, A; Bohn, A; Bonnefoy, M; Bonnet, H; Brandner, W; Cantalloube, F; Caselli, P; Charnay, B; Chauvin, G; Chavez, A; Choquet, E; Christiaens, V; Clénet, Y; du Foresto, VC; Cridland, A; Dembet, R; Drescher, A; Duvert, G; Eckart, A; Eisenhauer, F; Feuchtgruber, H; Garcia, P; Lopez, RG; Gendron, E; Genzel, R; Gillessen, S; Girard, JH; Haubois, X; Heissel, G; Henning, T; Hinkley, S; Hippler, S; Horrobin, M; Houllé, M; Hubert, Z; Jocou, L; Keppler, M; Kervella, P; Kreidberg, L; Lagrange, AM; Lapeyrère, V; Le Bouquin, JB; Leña, P; Lutz, D; Maire, AL; Mang, F; Marleau, GD; Mérand, A; Mollière, P; Monnier, JD; Mordasini, C; Mouillet, D; Nasedkin, E; Nowak, M; Ott, T; Otten, GPPL; Paladini, C; Paumard, T; Perraut, K; Perrin, G; Pfuhl, O; Pueyo, L; Rameau, J; Rodet, L; Rustamkulov, Z; Shimizu, T; Sing, D; Stolker, T; Straubmeier, C; Sturm, E; Tacconi, LJ; van Dishoeck, EF; Vigan, A; Vincent, F; Ward Duong, K; Widmann, F; Wieprecht, E; Wiezorrek, E; Woillez, J; Yazici, S; Young, A;

Publication
ASTRONOMICAL JOURNAL

Abstract
Giant exoplanets have been directly imaged over orders of magnitude of orbital separations, prompting theoretical and observational investigations of their formation pathways. In this paper, we present new VLTI/GRAVITY astrometric data of HIP 65426 b, a cold, giant exoplanet which is a particular challenge for most formation theories at a projected separation of 92 au from its primary. Leveraging GRAVITY's astrometric precision, we present an updated eccentricity posterior that disfavors large eccentricities. The eccentricity posterior is still prior dependent, and we extensively interpret and discuss the limits of the posterior constraints presented here. We also perform updated spectral comparisons with self-consistent forward-modeled spectra, finding a best-fit ExoREM model with solar metallicity and C/O = 0.6. An important caveat is that it is difficult to estimate robust errors on these values, which are subject to interpolation errors as well as potentially missing model physics. Taken together, the orbital and atmospheric constraints paint a preliminary picture of formation inconsistent with scattering after disk dispersal. Further work is needed to validate this interpretation. Analysis code used to perform this work is available on GitHub: https://github.com/sblunt/hip65426.

2023

Using the motion of S2 to constrain scalar clouds around Sgr A

Authors
Foschi A.; Abuter R.; Aimar N.; Amaro Seoane P.; Amorim A.; Bauböck M.; Berger J.P.; Bonnet H.; Bourdarot G.; Brandner W.; Cardoso V.; Clénet Y.; Dallilar Y.; Davies R.; De Zeeuw P.T.; Defrère D.; Dexter J.; Drescher A.; Eckart A.; Eisenhauer F.; Ferreira M.C.; Förster Schreiber N.M.; Garcia P.J.V.; Gao F.; Gendron E.; Genzel R.; Gillessen S.; Gomes T.; Habibi M.; Haubois X.; Heißel G.; Henning T.; Hippler S.; Hönig S.F.; Horrobin M.; Jochum L.; Jocou L.; Kaufer A.; Kervella P.; Kreidberg L.; Lacour S.; Lapeyrère V.; Le Bouquin J.B.; Léna P.; Lutz D.; Millour F.; Ott T.; Paumard T.; Perraut K.; Perrin G.; Pfuhl O.; Rabien S.; Ribeiro D.C.; Sadun Bordoni M.; Scheithauer S.; Shangguan J.; Shimizu T.; Stadler J.; Straub O.; Straubmeier C.; Sturm E.; Sykes C.; Tacconi L.J.; Vincent F.; Von Fellenberg S.; Widmann F.; Wieprecht E.; Wiezorrek E.; Woillez J.; Yazici S.;

Publication
MONTHLY NOTICES OF THE ROYAL ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY

Abstract
The motion of S2, one of the stars closest to the Galactic Centre, has been measured accurately and used to study the compact object at the centre of the Milky Way. It is commonly accepted that this object is a supermassive black hole, but the nature of its environment is open to discussion. Here, we investigate the possibility that dark matter in the form of an ultralight scalar field 'cloud' clusters around Sgr A*. We use the available data for S2 to perform a Markov Chain Monte Carlo analysis and find the best-fit estimates for a scalar cloud structure. Our results show no substantial evidence for such structures. When the cloud size is on the order of the size of the orbit of S2, we are able to constrain its mass to be smaller than 0.1 % of the central mass, setting a strong bound on the presence of new fields in the galactic centre.

2023

Polarimetry and astrometry of NIR flares as event horizon scale, dynamical probes for the mass of Sgr A

Authors
Abuter, R; Aimar, N; Amaro Seoane, P; Amorim, A; Bauböck, M; Berger, JP; Bonnet, H; Bourdarot, G; Brandner, W; Cardoso, V; Clénet, Y; Davies, R; De Zeeuw, PT; Dexter, J; Drescher, A; Eckart, A; Eisenhauer, F; Feuchtgruber, H; Finger, G; Förster Schreiber, NM; Foschi, A; Garcia, P; Gao, F; Gelles, Z; Gendron, E; Genzel, R; Gillessen, S; Hartl, M; Haubois, X; Haussmann, F; Heißel, G; Henning, T; Hippler, S; Horrobin, M; Jochum, L; Jocou, L; Kaufer, A; Kervella, P; Lacour, S; Lapeyrère, V; Le Bouquin, J; Léna, P; Lutz, D; Mang, F; More, N; Ott, T; Paumard, T; Perraut, K; Perrin, G; Pfuhl, O; Rabien, S; Ribeiro, DC; Sadun Bordoni, M; Scheithauer, S; Shangguan, J; Shimizu, T; Stadler, J; Straub, O; Straubmeier, C; Sturm, E; Tacconi, LJ; Vincent, F; Von Fellenberg, S; Widmann, F; Wielgus, M; Wieprecht, E; Wiezorrek, E; Woillez, J;

Publication
ASTRONOMY & ASTROPHYSICS

Abstract
We present new astrometric and polarimetric observations of flares from Sgr A* obtained with GRAVITY, the near-infrared interferometer at ESO's Very Large Telescope Interferometer (VLTI), bringing the total sample of well-covered astrometric flares to four and polarimetric flares to six. Of all flares, two are well covered in both domains. All astrometric flares show clockwise motion in the plane of the sky with a period of around an hour, and the polarization vector rotates by one full loop in the same time. Given the apparent similarities of the flares, we present a common fit, taking into account the absence of strong Doppler boosting peaks in the light curves and the EHT-measured geometry. Our results are consistent with and significantly strengthen our model from 2018. First, we find that the combination of polarization period and measured flare radius of around nine gravitational radii (9R(g) similar to 1.5R(ISCO), innermost stable circular orbit) is consistent with Keplerian orbital motion of hot spots in the innermost accretion zone. The mass inside the flares' radius is consistent with the 4.297 x 10(6) M-circle dot measured from stellar orbits at several thousand R-g. This finding and the diameter of the millimeter shadow of Sgr A* thus support a single black hole model. Second, the magnetic field configuration is predominantly poloidal (vertical), and the flares' orbital plane has a moderate inclination with respect to the plane of the sky, as shown by the non-detection of Doppler-boosting and the fact that we observe one polarization loop per astrometric loop. Finally, both the position angle on the sky and the required magnetic field strength suggest that the accretion flow is fueled and controlled by the winds of the massive young stars of the clockwise stellar disk 1-5 '' from Sgr A*, in agreement with recent simulations.

2023

The GRAVITY young stellar object survey IX. Spatially resolved kinematics of hot hydrogen gas in the star-disk interaction region of T Tauri stars

Authors
Wojtczak, JA; Labadie, L; Perraut, K; Tessore, B; Soulain, A; Ganci, V; Bouvier, J; Dougados, C; Alecian, E; Nowacki, H; Cozzo, G; Brandner, W; Garatti, ACO; Garcia, P; Lopez, RG; Sanchez Bermudez, J; Amorim, A; Benisty, M; Berger, JP; Bourdarot, G; Caselli, P; Clenet, Y; de Zeeuw, PT; Davies, R; Drescher, A; Duvert, G; Eckart, A; Eisenhauer, F; Eupen, F; Foerster Schreiber, NM; Gendron, E; Gillessen, S; Grant, S; Grellmann, R; Heissel, G; Henning, T; Hippler, S; Horrobin, M; Hubert, Z; Jocou, L; Kervella, P; Lacour, S; Lapeyrere, V; Le Bouquin, JB; LTna, P; Lutz, D; Mang, F; Ott, T; Paumard, T; Perrin, G; Scheithauer, S; Shangguan, J; Shimizu, T; Spezzano, S; Straub, O; Straubmeier, C; Sturm, E; van Dishoeck, E; Vincent, F; Widmann, F;

Publication
ASTRONOMY & ASTROPHYSICS

Abstract
Context. Hot atomic hydrogen emission lines in pre-main sequence stars serve as tracers for physical processes in the innermost regions of circumstellar accretion disks, where the interaction between a star and disk is the dominant influence on the formation of infalls and outflows. In the highly magnetically active T Tauri stars, this interaction region is particularly shaped by the stellar magnetic field and the associated magnetosphere, covering the inner five stellar radii around the central star. Even for the closest T Tauri stars, a region as compact as this is only observed on the sky plane at sub-mas scales. To resolve it spatially, the capabilities of optical long baseline interferometry are required.Aims. We aim to spatially and spectrally resolve the Br gamma hydrogen emission line with the methods of interferometry in order to examine the kinematics of the hydrogen gas emission region in the inner accretion disk of a sample of solar-like young stellar objects. The goal is to identify trends and categories among the sources of our sample and to discuss whether or not they can be tied to different origin mechanisms associated with Br gamma emission in T Tauri stars, chiefly and most prominently magnetospheric accretion.Methods. We observed a sample of seven T Tauri stars for the first time with VLTI GRAVITY, recording spectra and spectrally dispersed interferometric quantities across the Br gamma line at 2.16 mu m in the near-infrared K-band. We used the visibilities and differential phases to extract the size of the Br gamma emission region and the photocentre shifts on a channel-by-channel basis, probing the variation of spatial extent at different radial velocities. To assist in the interpretation, we also made use of radiative transfer models of magnetospheric accretion to establish a baseline of expected interferometric signatures if accretion is the primary driver of Br gamma emission.Results. From among our sample, we find that five of the seven T Tauri stars show an emission region with a half-flux radius in the four to seven stellar radii range that is broadly expected for magnetospheric truncation. Two of the five objects also show Br gamma emission primarily originating from within the co-rotation radius, which is an important criterion for magnetospheric accretion. Two objects exhibit extended emission on a scale beyond 10 R-(sic), one of them is even beyond the K-band continuum half-flux radius of 11.3 R-(sic). The observed photocentre shifts across the line can be either similar to what is expected for disks in rotation or show patterns of higher complexity.Conclusions. Based on the observational findings and the comparison with the radiative transfer models, we find strong evidence to suggest that for the two weakest accretors in the sample, magnetospheric accretion is the primary driver of Br gamma radiation. The results for the remaining sources imply either partial or strong contributions coming from additional, spatially extended emission components in the form of outflows, such as stellar or disk winds. We expect that in actively accreting T Tauri stars, these phenomena typically occur simultaneously on different spatial scales. Through more advanced modelling, interferometry will be a key factor in disentangling their distinct contributions to the total Br gamma flux arising from the innermost disk regions.

2023

Direct discovery of the inner exoplanet in the HD206893 system Evidence for deuterium burning in a planetary-mass companion

Authors
Hinkley, S; Lacour, S; Marleau, GD; Lagrange, AM; Wang, JJ; Kammerer, J; Cumming, A; Nowak, M; Rodet, L; Stolker, T; Balmer, WO; Ray, S; Bonnefoy, M; Molliere, P; Lazzoni, C; Kennedy, G; Mordasini, C; Abuter, R; Aigrain, S; Amorim, A; Asensio-Torres, R; Babusiaux, C; Benisty, M; Berger, JP; Beust, H; Blunt, S; Boccaletti, A; Bohn, A; Bonnet, H; Bourdarot, G; Brandner, W; Cantalloube, F; Caselli, P; Charnay, B; Chauvin, G; Chomez, A; Choquet, E; Christiaens, V; Clenet, Y; du Foresto, VC; Cridland, A; Delorme, P; Dembet, R; Drescher, A; Duvert, G; Eckart, A; Eisenhauer, F; Feuchtgruber, H; Galland, F; Garcia, P; Lopez, RG; Gardner, T; Gendron, E; Genzel, R; Gillessen, S; Girard, JH; Grandjean, A; Haubois, X; Heissel, G; Henning, T; Hippler, S; Horrobin, M; Houlle, M; Hubert, Z; Jocou, L; Keppler, M; Kervella, P; Kreidberg, L; Lapeyrere, V; Le Bouquin, JB; Lena, P; Lutz, D; Maire, AL; Mang, F; Merand, A; Meunier, N; Monnier, JD; Mouillet, D; Nasedkin, E; Ott, T; Otten, GPPL; Paladini, C; Paumard, T; Perraut, K; Perrin, G; Philipot, F; Pfuhl, O; Pourre, N; Pueyo, L; Rameau, J; Rickman, E; Rubini, P; Rustamkulov, Z; Samland, M; Shangguan, J; Shimizu, T; Sing, D; Straubmeier, C; Sturm, E; Tacconi, LJ; van Dishoeck, EF; Vigan, A; Vincent, F; Ward-Duong, K; Widmann, F; Wieprecht, E; Wiezorrek, E; Woillez, J; Yazici, S; Young, A; Zicher, N;

Publication
ASTRONOMY & ASTROPHYSICS

Abstract
Aims. HD206893 is a nearby debris disk star that hosts a previously identified brown dwarf companion with an orbital separation of similar to 10 au. Long-term precise radial velocity (RV) monitoring, as well as anomalies in the system proper motion, has suggested the presence of an additional, inner companion in the system. Methods. Using information from ongoing precision RV measurements with the HARPS spectrograph, as well as Gaia host star astrometry, we have undertaken a multi-epoch search for the purported additional planet using the VLTI/GRAVITY instrument. Results. We report a high-significance detection over three epochs of the companion HD206893c, which shows clear evidence for Keplerian orbital motion. Our astrometry with similar to 50-100 mu arcsec precision a fforded by GRAVITY allows us to derive a dynamical mass of 12.7(+1:2) (-1:0) M-Jup and an orbital separation of 3.53(+0:08) (-0:06) au for HD206893c. Our fits to the orbits of both companions in the system use both Gaia astrometry and RVs to also provide a precise dynamical estimate of the previously uncertain mass of the B component, and therefore allow us to derive an age of 155 +/- 15 Myr for the system. We find that theoretical atmospheric and evolutionary models that incorporate deuterium burning for HD206893c, parameterized by cloudy atmosphere models as well as a '' hybrid sequence '' (encompassing a transition from cloudy to cloud-free), provide a good simultaneous fit to the luminosity of both HD206893B and c. Thus, accounting for both deuterium burning and clouds is crucial to understanding the luminosity evolution of HD206893c. Conclusions. In addition to using long-term RV information, this e ffort is an early example of a direct imaging discovery of a bona fide exoplanet that was guided in part by Gaia astrometry. Utilizing Gaia astrometry is expected to be one of the primary techniques going forward for identifying and characterizing additional directly imaged planets. In addition, HD206893c is an example of an object narrowly straddling the deuteriumburning limit but unambiguously undergoing deuterium burning. Additional discoveries like this may therefore help clarify the discrimination between a brown dwarf and an extrasolar planet. Lastly, this discovery is another example of the power of optical interferometry to directly detect and characterize extrasolar planets where they form, at ice-line orbital separations of 2 4 au.

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