2009 Gemini Highlights

Jean-René Roy

SOCHIAS Annual Meeting - Santiago, Chile, 14-16 January 2009

Since 1993, Gemini: an international partnership

Gemini members are: United States (50%), United Kingdom

(25%), Canada (15%), Australia (5%) Argentina (2.5%) and Brazil (2.5%)

- Hosts: Chile, Hawaii

• Two 8 m telescopes optimized for visible/infrared wavelengths

– GN on Mauna Kea (4200 m), Hawaii

– GS on Cerro Pachon (2700 m), Chile

• Current Gemini International Agreement ends on 31 Dec. 2012. Negotiations for post-2012 have started.

… Gemini : one observatory, two telescopes

Since 2000

Gemini North, HawaiiMauna Kea 4200 m

Gemini South, ChileCerro Pachón 2900 m

Since 2001

Instrument suite at Cass

Gemini South

T-ReCS

GNIRSGMOS-S Michelle

GMOS-N

NIRI Altair

Gem

ini N

orth

Optimized execution of programs High completion rate of programs High shutter open efficiency

Two sites 11,000 km apart + Gemini archive in Canada

Mauna Kea

Cerro Pachon

CADC-archiveCADC-archive

Total staff~185

GN = 55%GS= 45%

~1/3 Eng~1/3 Sci~1/3 Admin

+ NGOs

A brief history of exo-planet imaging at Gemini

A brief history of exo-planet imaging at GeminiA brief history of exo-planet imaging at Gemini

2001: Two ultracool companions to the young

star HD130948

• Gravitationally bound pair

• Very low mass ultracool objects

– Pair separation = 0.134+/-0.002”

– ~7% of the Sun mass

• Binary = 1.13 Msun total

– Semi-major axis = 2.4 AU

– period ~ 10 yr

• Primary < 1 Gyr

Potter et al. ApJ, 2001

2002: Crossing the BD desert in 15 Sge

0.06 Msun (48 Mjup) L dwarf companion HR 7672; 14 AU from starGemini/Hokupa’a. BD can exist that close to the main star (Liu et al. AJ, 2002)

…but Brown Dwarfs are NOT planets.

Young Jovian planets are 100 – 1000 times fainter

The race for imaging the first extrasolar planet is on.

Gemini, Keck, Subaru, VLT or HST?

Gemini NCFHT

KeckSubaru

Slides from 2/17/02

11

Gemini Deep Planet Survey*Deepest and Largest Exo-planet Imaging Survey

• NIRI/ALTAIR AO search for giant planets and brown dwarfs around 86 stars

– 1.6 m 5 sensitivity to > 0.5” m = 9.5 at 0.5” m = 12.9 at 1”

– or 2 Mjup for 100 Myr old K0 star at d ~ 22 pc at 40-200 AU separation

• Second epoch observations of 48 stars confirm all candidates as unrelated background stars

• 95% upper limit of fractions of star with at least one planet of 0.5 - 13 MJup are

– 0.28 for 10-25 AU– 0.13 for 25-50 AU

Lafrenière et al. 2007, ApJ

Jovian planets are rare around late- and Sun-like stars ==> chance of young Jovians to be in the 10-50 AU zone is max ~20%

Angular differential imaging demo

Final ADI

“low hanging fruit”: large Jovian “companion” of IRXS J…

• Gemini North ALTAIR NIRI discovery of 8 MJup “companion” to K7-type solar mass star (d ~ 150 pc)

– In ~5 Myr-old Upper Scorpio association– At r = 2.22” or 330 AU orbit?

• Spectroscopy of Jovian planet– L4-type with Teff ~ 1800 K

• Needs proper motion measurements over next 2-3 yrs to establish whether planet is bound to star of chance superposition.

After 10 years of trials, first imaging of a self-luminous Jovian planet ‘around’ a normal star, I.e. lowest mass companionImaged around normal star so far.

Lafrenière et al. 2008, ApJL

HR 8799: Three More Planets!HR 8799: Three More Planets!

HR 8799: ~60 Myr, F-typeC. Marois et al., 2008, Science

First images of“planetary Family”M~3 to 13 MJup

Models of Young Planet Models of Young Planet LuminosityLuminosity

Marley et al. 2006

14Age

Pla

net

Lu

min

osit

y

(Lsu

n)

5 Myr, 8 MJup

planet!(Lafreniere et al. 2008)

In 3rd quarter of 2008: a beautiful crop of exoplanets!

2009+: NICI at Gemini South2009+: NICI at Gemini South

• NICI AO performance as good or better than expected at radii less than ~1.4 arcsec

• Contrast at larger radii is limited by array controller issues, read noise, and short exposure times used for these tests (ADI)

Super Gemini Planet Imager at Super Gemini Planet Imager at GS in 2011GS in 2011

Other recent Other recent science accomplishmentsscience accomplishments

19

BBQ Temperature Brown Dwarf*

• CFBDS0059 found by i’-z’ imaging on CFHT and spectral characterization by Gemini (NIRI) and VLT– Coolest BD with Teff ~ 625

K and log g ~ 4.75– Evolutionary models

indicate age of 1-5 Gyr and 15-30 MJup

– CFBDS0059 and ULAS J0034 could be the first Y0 dwarfs detected

Delorme et al. 2008, A&A

Spectral indices defining T dwarfsaturate below 700 K. New index of NH3 absorption in the H band introduced.

20

SN2008d: A Unique Opportunity

3 SN in NGC 2770 over ~10 years

SN 2008d discovered at the moment of explosion Jan 10

Rapid Gemini-GMOS spectroscopy follow-up

Gemini North-GMOS g’, r’, I’ and H, March 6, 2008

Soderberg et al. 2008, Nature

21

Present at the Birth of SN 2008d

• Birth of SN 2008d (SN Ibc) signaled by extremely luminous X-ray outburst

– First ever event detected so early (10 Jan 2008) - Swift

– NGC 2770 at d = 27 Mpc

• Almost daily monitoring with GN/GMOS from the first day (GN-2007B-DD-9) up to the end of Jan, and weekly spectroscopy from Feb. 1st until mid May 2008

– Clear evolution from featureless continuum to broad absorption lines, and finally to deep absorption features of moderate widths

Soderberg et al. 2008, Nature

SN 2008d shows emergence of strongHe I features of He-rich SN Ibc, unlikeGRB-Supernovae.

22

Massive “Dead” Galaxies at z >2

• “Dead” massive galaxies at z > 2– Previous deep GNIRS

spectroscopy had revealed 45% of the small sample to have low or no SF

– New very deep GNIRS spectrum of one “dead” object at z ~ 2.2 confirms very low SF

• Most massive galaxies formed early

• And nuclear/black hole driven winds may act as “birth control”

High z galaxy research enabled by efficient

and versatile X-dispersed mode of GNIRS

Kriek et al. 2006, 2008, ApJ

23

GN LGS AO: Ops highlights

• Successfully (and somewhat painfully) operating Laser Guide Star Adaptive Optics (LGS-AO) at Gemini North

– Demand: 200h in queue per semester, leading to 50-60 scheduled nights per semester

– Gaining experience that will help with deployment of LGS-AO at GS

• Laser AO use requires cloudless sky and seeing better than ~ 0.8” in the optical– Occurs ~25% of the time– Schedule 3.5-4 times as many LGS nights

in queue as approved queue science time• Operating under the Laser Clearing House rules

for clearance to propagate the laser– Target positions need to be pre-approved– Each target has clearance only in specific

time intervals • Mix LGS AO programs with non-LGS queue to

make optimal use of telescope time

24

Deep into thecore of NGC 4244withGemini NorthNIFS

25

A Rotating Nuclear Stellar Cluster

• ALTAIR/NIFS LGS AO spectroscopy of flattened nuclear star cluster in edge-on spiral NGC 4244– Multiple components– Strong rotation +/-30 km/s within

the central 10 pc• Both young disk and

spheroidal components rotate• Rotation is in same direction

as normal disk• 1.7 x 106 solar mass located

< 8 pc from core

Primary formation of NSC through episodicaccretion of material from the disk, gas or young star clusters.

Seth et al. 2008, ApJ

Mauna Kea Cerro Pachón

• GMOSGMOS• T-ReCST-ReCS• PhoenixPhoenix• NICI*NICI*• FLAMINGOS-2*FLAMINGOS-2*• MCAO/Canopus*MCAO/Canopus*• GSAOI*GSAOI*• GPI*GPI*

• GMOSGMOS• ALTAIR+LGS*ALTAIR+LGS*• NIRI*NIRI*• MICHELLEMICHELLE• NIFS*NIFS*• GNIRS*GNIRS*• GLAO*GLAO*• WFMOSWFMOS

2009: Current deployment of

instruments on GN & GS

*AO instrumentation

FLAMINGOS-2: Near IR FLAMINGOS-2: Near IR MOS for Gemini SouthMOS for Gemini South

1-2.5 mm

FOV 6’x6’for imaging

FOV 2’x6’ for MOS

We “hope”To deployF-2 in 2009A

GLAO MK Modeling ResultsGLAO MK Modeling Results

Improvements in FWHM are consistent, about 0.2 arcsec at H

Ensquared energy improvements between 50% and 100% in 0.2 arcsec

Current 20percentile IQ would be achieve 80% of the time.

SummarySummary

Coming very soon:• GNIRS “reborn”

– recommissioning 2009A• NICI

– Planet survey has started– Available for all type of

science, not only planet search

• FLAMINGOS-2– Acceptance tests being

analyzed• GMOS-N CCD replacement

in 2009; GMOS-S to follow

New development:• GPI

– In construction; completion in 2011

• WFMOS– designs studies under way;

end date Feb. 2009– Gemini negotiation with

Subaru on-going• GLAO

– Site survey data imply excellent GLAO performance on MK

Na Kilo Hoku o Mauna Kea