Issue |
A&A
Volume 680, December 2023
|
|
---|---|---|
Article Number | A64 | |
Number of page(s) | 46 | |
Section | Planets and planetary systems | |
DOI | https://doi.org/10.1051/0004-6361/202346863 | |
Published online | 08 December 2023 |
Planetary system architectures with low-mass inner planets
Direct imaging exploration of mature systems beyond 1 au★
1
Univ. Grenoble Alpes, CNRS, IPAG,
38000
Grenoble,
France
e-mail: celia.desgrange@univ-grenoble-alpes.fr
2
Max Planck Institute for Astronomy,
Königstuhl 17,
69117
Heidelberg,
Germany
3
Laboratoire Lagrange, UMR7293, Université Côte d’Azur, CNRS,
Observatoire de la Côte d’Azur, Boulevard de l’Observatoire,
06304
Nice,
France
4
Laboratoire Univers et Théories, Observatoire de Paris, Université PSL, CNRS,
Université Paris Cité,
92190
Meudon,
France
5
Space Research and Planetology Division, Physikalisches Inst., Universität Bern,
Switzerland
6
Institute of Astronomy, University of Cambridge,
Madingley Road,
Cambridge
CB3 0HA,
UK
7
Department of Physics, University of Warwick,
Gibbet Hill Road,
Coventry,
CV4 7AL,
UK
8
Centre for Exoplanets and Habitability, University of Warwick, Gibbet Hill Road,
Coventry
CV4 7AL,
UK
9
Department of Astronomy/Steward Observatory, The University of Arizona, 933 North Cherry Avenue,
Tucson,
AZ
85721,
USA
10
LESIA, Observatoire de Paris, Université PSL, CNRS, Sorbonne Université, Université de Paris,
5 place Jules Janssen,
92195
Meudon,
France
11
Department of Physics, University of Rome Tor Vergata,
Via della Ricerca Scientifica 1,
00133
Rome,
Italy
12
INAF - Osservatorio Astronomico di Padova,
Vicolo dell’ Osservatorio 5,
35122
Padova,
Italy
13
INAF - Osservatorio Astrofisico di Catania,
via Santa Sofia,
78 Catania,
Italy
14
Pixyl,
5 avenue du Grand Sablon,
38700
La Tronche,
France
15
School of Physics, Trinity College Dublin, The University of Dublin,
College Green,
Dublin 2,
Ireland
16
School of Physical Sciences, The Open University,
Walton Hall,
Milton Keynes,
MK7 6AA,
UK
17
Aix-Marseille Univ, CNRS, CNES, LAM,
Marseille,
France
Received:
10
May
2023
Accepted:
3
October
2023
Context. The discovery of planets orbiting at less than 1 au from their host star and less massive than Saturn in various exoplanetary systems revolutionized our theories of planetary formation. The fundamental question is whether these close-in low-mass planets could have formed in the inner disk interior to 1 au, or whether they formed further out in the planet-forming disk and migrated inward. Exploring the role of additional giant planet(s) in these systems may help us to pinpoint their global formation and evolution.
Aims. We searched for additional substellar companions by using direct imaging in systems known to host close-in small planets. The use of direct imaging complemented by radial velocity and astrometric detection limits enabled us to explore the giant planet and brown dwarf demographics around these hosts to investigate the potential connection between both populations.
Methods. We carried out a direct imaging survey with SPHERE at VLT to look for outer giant planets and brown dwarf companions in 27 systems hosting close-in low-mass planets discovered by radial velocity. Our sample is composed of very nearby (<20 pc) planetary systems, orbiting G-, K-, and M-type mature (0.5–10 Gyr) stellar hosts. We performed homogeneous direct imaging data reduction and analysis to search for and characterize point sources, and derived robust statistical detection limits. The final direct imaging detection performances were globally considered together with radial velocity and astrometric sensitivity.
Results. Of 337 point-source detections, we do not find any new bound companions. We recovered the emblematic very cool T-type brown dwarf GJ 229 B. Our typical sensitivities in direct imaging range from 5 to 30 MJup beyond 2 au. The non-detection of massive companions is consistent with predictions based on models of planet formation by core accretion. Our pilot study opens the way to a multi-technique approach for the exploration of very nearby exoplanetary systems with future ground-based and space observatories.
Key words: planetary systems / instrumentation: adaptive optics / instrumentation: high angular resolution / methods: observational
© The Authors 2023
Open Access article, published by EDP Sciences, under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
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