High contrast imaging at the LBT: the LEECH exoplanet imaging survey

Andrew J. Skemer*, Philip Hinz, Simone Esposito, Michael F. Skrutskie, Denis Defrere, Vanessa Bailey, Jarron Leisenring, Daniel Apai, Beth Biller, Mickael Bonnefoy, Wolfgang Brandner, Esther Buenzli, Laird Close, Justin Crepp, Robert J. De Rosa, Silvano Desidera, Josh Eisner, Jonathan Fortney, Thomas Henning, Karl-Heinz HofmannTaisiya Kopytova, Anne-Lise Maire, Jared R. Males, Rafael Millan-Gabet, Katie Morzinski, Apurva Oza, Jenny Patience, Abhijith Rajan, George Rieke, Dieter Schertl, Joshua Schlieder, Kate Su, Amali Vaz, Kimberly Ward-Duong, Gerd Weigelt, Charles E. Woodward, Neil Zimmerman

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingConference contribution

Abstract / Description of output

In Spring 2013, the LEECH (LBTI Exozodi Exoplanet Common Hunt,) survey began its similar to 130-night campaign from the Large Binocular Telescope (LBT) atop Mt Graharn, Arizona. This survey benefits from the many technological achievements of the LBT including two 8.4-meter mirrors on a single fixed mount, dual adaptive secondary mirrors for high Strehl performance, and a cold beam combiner to dramatically reduce the telescope's overall background emissivity. LEECH neatly complements other high-contrast planet imaging efforts by observing stars at L' (3.8 mu m), as opposed to the shorter wavelength near-infrared bands (1-2.4 mu m) of other surveys. This portion of the spectrum offers deep mass sensitivity, especially around nearby adolescent (similar to 0.1-1 Gyr) stars. LEECH's contrast is competitive with other extreme adaptive optics systems, while providing an alternative survey strategy. Additionally, LEECH is characterizing known exoplanetary systems with observations from 3-5 mu m in preparation for JWST.

Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationADAPTIVE OPTICS SYSTEMS IV
EditorsE Marchetti, LM Close, JP Veran
Place of PublicationBELLINGHAM
PublisherSPIE-INT SOC OPTICAL ENGINEERING
Number of pages12
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2014
EventConference on Adaptive Optics Systems IV - Montreal, Canada
Duration: 22 Jun 201427 Jun 2014

Publication series

NameProceedings of SPIE
PublisherSPIE-INT SOC OPTICAL ENGINEERING
Volume9148
ISSN (Print)0277-786X

Conference

ConferenceConference on Adaptive Optics Systems IV
Country/TerritoryCanada
Period22/06/1427/06/14

Keywords / Materials (for Non-textual outputs)

  • adaptive optics
  • PLANET-FINDING CAMPAIGN
  • URSA-MAJOR GROUP
  • HR 8799
  • ADAPTIVE OPTICS
  • GIANT PLANETS
  • STARS
  • FREQUENCY
  • SYSTEM
  • SUN
  • METALLICITY

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