Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: http://hdl.handle.net/2248/7650
Title: A Search for Polarized Thermal Emission from Directly Imaged Exoplanets and Brown Dwarf Companions to Nearby Stars
Authors: Jensen-Clem, R
Millar-Blanchaer, M. A
van Holstein, R. G
Mawet, Dimitri
Graham, J
Sengupta, S
Marley, M. S
Snik, Frans
Vigan, A
Hinkley, S
de Boer, Jos
Girard, J. H
De Rosa, R. J
Bowler, B. P
Wiktorowicz, S. J
Perrin, M. D
Crepp, J. R
Macintosh, B
Keywords: Brown dwarfs
Polarimetry
Exoplanets
Exoplanet atmospheres
Issue Date: Dec-2020
Publisher: IOP Publishing
Citation: The Astronomical Journal, Vol. 160, No, 6, 286
Abstract: Aerosols in the atmospheres of cloudy gas giant exoplanets and brown dwarfs scatter and polarize these objects' thermal emission. If such an object has an oblate shape or nonuniform cloud distribution, the net degree of linear polarization can show an increase ranging from several tenths of a percent to a few percent. Modern high-contrast imaging polarimeters are now poised to detect such low-polarization signals, opening up a new window into the rotational velocities and cloud properties of substellar companions to nearby stars. In this paper, we present the results of a near-IR survey searching for linearly polarized thermal emission from a sample of two planetary-mass companions and five brown dwarf companions using GPI and SPHERE-IRDIS. We probe the subpercent linear polarization regime that typifies polarized free-floating brown dwarfs and place limits on each object's degree of linear polarization. We relate our upper limits on each target's degree of linear polarization to its rotation rate, and place our results in the context of rotation rates measured using high-resolution spectroscopy.
Description: Restricted Access
URI: http://hdl.handle.net/2248/7650
ISSN: 1538-3881
Appears in Collections:IIAP Publications



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