Searching for Accreting Protoplanets at with Super-Resolution
Dr. Alexander Chaushev
University of California Irvine
Characterising actively accreting protoplanets offers the best way to directly study the planet formation process. Unfortunately, such protoplanets remain rare, with only PDS 70b and c being unambiguously confirmed. This paucity is not only due to the complex circumstellar environment around young stars, but also because of the large distances to star-forming regions. The latter imposes stringent angular resolution requirements, making it difficult to search for protoplanets at separations where we expect them to be abundant.
In this talk, I will present results from a program that uses kernel phase interferometry (KPI), an interferometric data analysis technique, in conjunction with SCExAO/CHARIS to overcome these limitations. KPI provides sub-λ/D resolution, while the use of spectroscopy from the CHARIS IFS allows us to disambiguate protoplanet candidates from disk features. I will present results from our technical demonstrations, studies of MWC 758 and MWC 480 as well as ongoing efforts to confirm the protoplanet candidate V1247 Ori b. I will also discuss plans for a future survey and how that could tie in with a JWST Cycle 3 project to apply KPI to the NIRSpec IFU. Finally, I will briefly talk about the role that machine learning can play in better understanding our complex astronomical instruments.