Challenging Exoplanet Formation Models with Direct Imaging and Coronagraphy : Fomalhaut and HD 100546

Séminaire IPAG de Matthew Kenworthy (Leiden Obs.), jeudi 14 novembre 2013 à 11h00, IPAG seminar room

From exoplanet radial velocity and transit surveys, the diversity in extrasolar planetary systems is being revealed to us at scales out to 5 to 10 AU. In order to understand their formation mechanisms, we also need to study the composition of exoplanets through direct imaging and spectroscopy. I present results for our searches around nearby early type stars including Fomalhaut, and recent observations confirming the protoplanetary nature of HD 100546b, obtained using the APP coronagraph on the VLT. We are also developing new broadband coronagraphs that will enable thermal infrared imagers, such as ERIS for the VLT and METIS for the E-ELT, to search at Solar system scales around many nearby stars, and I will show initial results from our development program.