High Contrast Imaging with the New Vortex Coronagraph on NACO - Observatoire de Paris
Journal Articles The Messenger Year : 2013

High Contrast Imaging with the New Vortex Coronagraph on NACO

D. Mawet
  • Function : Author
O. Absil
  • Function : Author
J. H. Girard
  • Function : Author
J. O'Neal
  • Function : Author
C. Delacroix
  • Function : Author
P. Bourget
  • Function : Author
V. Christiaens
  • Function : Author
P. Forsberg
  • Function : Author
F. Gonté
  • Function : Author
S. Habraken
  • Function : Author
C. Hanot
  • Function : Author
M. Karlsson
  • Function : Author
M. Kasper
  • Function : Author
J. Lizon
  • Function : Author
K. Muzic
  • Function : Author
E. Peña
  • Function : Author
R. Olivier
  • Function : Author
N. Slusarenko
  • Function : Author
L. E. Tacconi-Garman
  • Function : Author
J. Surdej
  • Function : Author

Abstract

The installation and successful commissioning of an L'-band annular groove phase mask (AGPM) coronagraph on VLT/NACO is presented. The AGPM is a vector vortex coronagraph made from diamond sub-wavelength gratings tuned to the L'-band. The vector vortex coronagraph enables high-contrast imaging at very small inner working angles (here 0.09 arcseconds, the diffraction limit of the VLT at L'), potentially opening up a new parameter space in high-resolution imaging. During technical and science verification runs, we discovered a late-type companion at two beamwidths from an F0V star, and imaged the inner regions of β Pictoris down to the previously unexplored projected radius of 1.75 astronomical units. The circumstellar disc of β Pic was also resolved from 1 to 5 arcseconds. These results showcase the potential of the NACO L'-band AGPM over a wide range of spatial scales.
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Dates and versions

obspm-03856461 , version 1 (16-11-2022)

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D. Mawet, O. Absil, J. H. Girard, J. Milli, J. O'Neal, et al.. High Contrast Imaging with the New Vortex Coronagraph on NACO. The Messenger, 2013, 152, pp.8-13. ⟨obspm-03856461⟩
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