Keck Planet Imager and Characterizer Archives - Astrobiology

A simplified diagram of the KPIC phase II instrument including the FIU and FEU. All moving mechanisms are denoted with double ended arrows. The options for each mechanism are listed next to them. The options highlighted in orange are the default settings used for nominal K band science operations most similar to the original phase I mode. The green options are alternative settings available for the many phase II modes. -- astro-ph.IM

Astronomy & Telescopes, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Habitable Zones, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Status Report

Technical Description and Performance of the Phase II Version of the Keck Planet Imager and Characterizer

by Keith CowingFebruary 6, 2025February 6, 2025

The Keck Planet Imager and Characterizer (KPIC) is a series of upgrades for the Keck II Adaptive Optics (AO) system and the NIRSPEC spectrograph to enable diffraction limited, high resolution […]

The Keck Planet Imager and Characterizer (KPIC) connects the Keck II AO system and the Keck/NIRSPEC high-resolution infrared spectrograph (https://www2.keck.hawaii.edu/inst/nirspec/) via a linear bundle of four single-mode fibers spaced by ~800 mas on the sky. Single-mode fibers provide a more stable quasi-Gaussian line spread function. Their small angular size, matched to the diffraction limit (FWHM~50 mas in K band), also provides excellent sky background rejection, as well as reduces the off-axis starlight injection into the single mode fibers. Currently, KPIC uses the Shack-Hartmann Wavefront Sensors for AO. Larger image

Astronomy & Telescopes, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Status Report

The High-contrast Performance of the Keck Planet Imager and Characterizer

by Keith CowingJune 24, 2024June 24, 2024

The Keck Planet Imager and Characterizer (KPIC), a series of upgrades to the Keck II Adaptive Optics System and Instrument Suite, aims to demonstrate high-resolution spectroscopy of faint exoplanets that […]

Left: C/O as a function of projected separation or semi-major axis for the eight companions in this study. The points are sized by companion mass, using the mass legend in the right panel. The blue line and region show the solar C/O value from Asplund et al. (2021). Right: In color: 1σ contours of C/O and [C/H] for the eight companions, which are all consistent with solar composition (intersection of dashed gray lines) to the 2σ level. In § 6.4.1, we justify that their host stars likely have solar composition as well. We overplot hot Jupiters which have abundance measurements for at least one oxygen-bearing and one carbon-bearing species from JWST or high-resolution spectroscopy as black points (Alderson et al. 2023; August et al. 2023; Bean et al. 2023; Bell et al. 2023; Brogi et al. 2023; Finnerty et al. 2024; Xue et al. 2024), which are also sized by mass. The hot Jupiters show considerable scatter and super-solar (and super-stellar) metallicities except for one planet, unlike our companions which cluster around solar (and stellar) composition. -- astro-ph.EP

Astronomy & Telescopes, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Brown Dwarfs, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Status Report, Stellar Cartography

Are These Planets Or Brown Dwarfs?

by Keith CowingJune 3, 2024June 3, 2024

Using Keck Planet Imager and Characterizer (KPIC) high-resolution (R~35000) spectroscopy from 2.29-2.49 μm, we present uniform atmospheric retrievals for eight young substellar companions with masses of ~10-30 MJup, orbital separations […]

Astronomy & Telescopes, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Brown Dwarfs, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Gas Giants, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Press Release

Fresh View Of The Hot Brown Dwarf HD 984 B Through High-resolution Spectroscopy

by Keith CowingApril 20, 2024

Context. High-resolution spectroscopy has the potential to drive a better understanding of the atmospheric composition, physics, and dynamics of young exoplanets and brown dwarfs, bringing clear insights into the formation […]

Top row: CCF between the best-fit model and the measured spectra for (a) HIP 21543, (b) HIP 94666, and (c) HIP 50319. The CCF SNR is included in the top left of the plots. The periodic oscillations in the CCF for HIP 50319 are due to residual fringing that was not fully removed in the fits, limiting us to a tentative detection on this target. Lower two rows: CHARA detection maps for HIP 21543 and HIP 50319. HIP 94666 is omitted as it was not detected by CHARA. The axes mark distance in milliarcseconds from the primary, with North up and East left. The white crosshairs denote the detected companion. Four maps are shown for HIP 21543, two for MIRC-X (d,f) and two for MYSTIC (e,g), across both nights. HIP 50319 has two maps (h,i), both from MYSTIC, one for each night. The upper left text in the CHARA maps denotes the observing night, beam combiner, and band for each plot.

Astronomy & Telescopes, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Status Report

Vortex Fiber Nulling for Exoplanet Observations: First Direct Detection of M Dwarf Companions around HIP 21543, HIP 94666, and HIP 50319

by Keith CowingMarch 27, 2024March 27, 2024

Vortex fiber nulling (VFN) is a technique for detecting and characterizing faint companions at small separations from their host star.

Top-Down view of the HISPEC RSPEC Spectrograph including the integrating sphere and flat-fielding light path -- astro-ph.EP

Astronomy & Telescopes, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Status Report

Calibration Unit Design for High-Resolution Infrared Spectrograph for Exoplanet Characterization (HISPEC)

by Keith CowingNovember 20, 2023November 20, 2023

The latest generation of high-resolution spectrograph instruments on 10m-class telescopes continue to pursue challenging science cases. Consequently, ever more precise calibration methods are necessary to enable trail-blazing science methodology.