Clarifying the Status of HD 100546 as Observed by the Gemini Planet Imager

TL;DR

This study reanalyzed GPI data of HD 100546 using different methods, confirming previous findings of a protoplanet candidate and a second emission source, thus clarifying its planetary status.

Contribution

It provides an updated analysis of HD 100546 observations with improved data reduction techniques, reaffirming earlier detections of potential protoplanets.

Findings

Confirmed the presence of HD 100546 b

Identified a second emission source at 13-14 au

Supported previous protoplanet candidate interpretations

Abstract

HD 100546 is a young, early-type star and key laboratory for studying gas giant planet formation. GPI data taken in 2015 and reported by Currie et al. (2015) recover the previously-identified protoplanet candidate HD 100546 b and identify a second emission source at ~13--14 au: either a disk hot spot or a second protoplanetary candidate (HD 100546 "c"). In this short research note, we update the status of HD 100546 as observed by the Gemini Planet Imager by rereducing our original data using a different PSF subtraction method (KLIP instead of A-LOCI), rereducing recently public GPI Campaign Team (GPIES) data, and comparing the quality of the two data sets. Our results support the original findings in Currie et al. (2015).