Protoplanetary disks

A survey of the linear polarization of directly imaged exoplanets and brown dwarf companions with SPHERE-IRDIS. First polarimetric detections revealing disks around DH Tau B and GSC 6214-210 B

Context. Young giant planets and brown dwarf companions emit near- infrared radiation that can be linearly polarized up to several percent. This polarization can reveal the presence of an (unresolved) circumsubstellar accretion disk, rotation-induced …

Polarimetric imaging mode of VLT/SPHERE/IRDIS. I. Description, data reduction, and observing strategy

Context. Polarimetric imaging is one of the most effective techniques for high-contrast imaging and for the characterization of protoplanetary disks, and it has the potential of becoming instrumental in the characterization of exoplanets. The …

Polarimetric imaging mode of VLT/SPHERE/IRDIS. II. Characterization and correction of instrumental polarization effects

Context. Circumstellar disks and self-luminous giant exoplanets or companion brown dwarfs can be characterized through direct- imaging polarimetry at near-infrared wavelengths. SPHERE/IRDIS at the Very Large Telescope has the capabilities to perform …

Discovery of a directly imaged disk in scattered light around the Sco-Cen member Wray 15-788

Context. Protoplanetary disks are the birth environments of planetary systems. Therefore, the study of young, circumstellar environments is essential in understanding the processes taking place in planet formation and the evolution of planetary …

First direct detection of a polarized companion outside a resolved circumbinary disk around CS Chamaeleonis

Aims: To understand planet formation it is necessary to study the birth environment of planetary systems. Resolved imaging of young planet forming disks allows us to study this environment in great detail and find signs of planet-disk interaction and …

Direct detection of scattered light gaps in the transitional disk around HD 97048 with VLT/SPHERE

Aims: We studied the well-known circumstellar disk around the Herbig Ae/Be star HD 97048 with high angular resolution to reveal undetected structures in the disk which may be indicative of disk evolutionary processes such as planet formation. …

Multiple rings in the transition disk and companion candidates around RX J1615.3-3255. High contrast imaging with VLT/SPHERE

Context. The effects of a planet sculpting the disk from which it formed are most likely to be found in disks that are in transition between being classical protoplanetary and debris disks. Recent direct imaging of transition disks has revealed …

Planets and Inner Disks in Reflected Starlight with SPHERE/ZIMPOL

Improving the polarimetric sensitivity by understanding beamshifts

Imaging the circumstellar environment of the young T Tauri star SU Aurigae

The circumstellar environments of classical T Tauri stars are challenging to directly image because of their high star-to-disk contrast ratio. One method to overcome this is by using imaging polarimetry where scattered and consequently polarised …

The effects of disk and dust structure on observed polarimetric images of protoplanetary disks

Context. Imaging polarimetry is a powerful tool for imaging faint circumstellar material. It is a rapidly developing field with great promise for diagnostics of both the large-scale structures and the small-scale details of the scattering particles. …