The SPHERE infrared survey for exoplanets (SHINE) -- II. Observations, Data reduction and analysis Detection performances and early-results

TL;DR

The SHINE survey uses VLT/SPHERE to systematically image young, nearby stars, aiming to detect and analyze giant exoplanets and brown dwarfs, providing statistical insights into their demographics and formation mechanisms.

Contribution

This paper details the observational and data analysis methods of the SHINE survey, presenting early detection performances and candidate ranking for a representative star sample.

Findings

Detection of substellar companions around young stars

Survey performance reaching planetary mass detection limits

Methodology for candidate ranking and analysis

Abstract

Over the past decades, direct imaging has confirmed the existence of substellar companions (exoplanets or brown dwarfs) on wide orbits (>10 au) from their host stars. To understand their formation and evolution mechanisms, we have initiated in 2015 the SPHERE infrared survey for exoplanets (SHINE), a systematic direct imaging survey of young, nearby stars to explore their demographics.} {We aim to detect and characterize the population of giant planets and brown dwarfs beyond the snow line around young, nearby stars. Combined with the survey completeness, our observations offer the opportunity to constrain the statistical properties (occurrence, mass and orbital distributions, dependency on the stellar mass) of these young giant planets.} {In this study, we present the observing and data analysis strategy, the ranking process of the detected candidates, and the survey performances for a subsample of 150 stars, which are representative of the full SHINE sample. The observations were conducted in an homogeneous way from February 2015 to February 2017 with the dedicated ground-based VLT/SPHERE instrument equipped with the IFS integral field spectrograph and the IRDIS dual-band imager covering a spectral range between 0.9 and 2.3 $\mu$m. We used coronographic, angular and spectral differential imaging techniques to reach the best detection performances for this study down to the planetary mass regime.}