Article: Chilcote, J; Barman, T; Fitzgerald, MP; Graham, JR; Larkin, JE; Macintosh, B; Bauman, B; Burrows, AS; Cardwell, A; De Rosa, RJ; Dillon, D; Doyon, R; Dunn, J; Erikson, D; Gavel, D; Goodsell, SJ; Hartung, M; Hibon, P; Ingraham, P; Kalas, P; Konopacky, Q; Maire, J; Marchis, F; Marley, MS; Marois, C; Millar-Blanchaer, M; Morzinski, K; Norton, A; Oppenheimer, R; Palmer, D; Patience, J; Perrin, M; Poyneer, L; Pueyo, L; Rantakyro, FT; Sadakuni, N; Saddlemyer, L; Savransky, D; Serio, A; Sivaramakrishnan, A; Song, I; Soummer, R; Thomas, S; Wallace, JK; Wiktorowicz, S; Wolff, S; (2015) “The First H-Band Spectrum of the Giant Planet beta Pictoris b”, Astrophysical Journal Letters, 798 (1)
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 beta 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 mu m). The spectrum has a resolving power of similar to 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 M-Jup and age between 10 and 20 Myr.
Funding Acknowledgement: Gemini Observatory; NSF Center for Adaptive Optics at UC Santa Cruz; NSF [AST-0909188, AST-1211562, AST-1405505]; NASA [NNX11AD21G, NNX10AH31G, NNX14AC21G]; University of California Office of the President [LFRP-118057]; Science and Technology Facilities Council [ST/H002707/1]; Dunlap Institute, University of Toronto; U.S. Department of Energy by Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory [DE-AC52-07NA27344]; California Institute of Technology/Jet Propulsion Laboratory; NASA Exoplanet Science Institute.
Funding Text: The authors acknowledge the financial support of the Gemini Observatory, the NSF Center for Adaptive Optics at UC Santa Cruz, the NSF (AST-0909188; AST-1211562, AST-1405505), NASA Origins (NNX11AD21G; NNX10AH31G, NNX14AC21G), the University of California Office of the President (LFRP-118057), the Science and Technology Facilities Council (ST/H002707/1), and the Dunlap Institute, University of Toronto. Portions of this work were performed under the auspices of the U.S. Department of Energy by Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory under Contract DE-AC52-07NA27344 and under contract with the California Institute of Technology/Jet Propulsion Laboratory funded by NASA through the Sagan Fellowship Program executed by the NASA Exoplanet Science Institute. We are indebted to the international team of engineers and scientists who worked to make GPI a reality.