(Proposal ID) S14B-035

(PI) Jovanovic, Nemanja

(Proposal Title)
 Searching for Planets in Transitional and Young Debris Disks at Solar System-like Scales with SCExAO/HiCIAO

(Abstract)
We propose the first near-infrared coronagraphic observations at unprecedented 
spatial scales (inner <300~mas) of young, self-luminous exoplanets and planet-
forming disks using Subaru's new state-of-the-art planet imager  -- SCExAO -- 
which is on track to be the first bona fide extreme-AO system on an 8-meter 
class telescope in the north.  While conventional Lyot-type coronagraphs are 
capable of imaging super-jovian planets in the near-IR typically only at wide 
separations (r > 0.5 arcsec), the SCExAO instrument is the first ground based 
imager enabling high contrast imaging of these planets at small, solar system-
like angular separations (< 3 lambda/D).  Our program will study planet-forming
disks around the youngest (1--10 Myr) stars in unprecedented detail and yield 
detections of 1.5--7 M_J planets responsible for clearing gaps in these disks.  Our program will also resolve older, Kuiper belt like debris disks showing 
evidence for hidden planets and identify a 5th, recently predicted jovian 
planet orbiting HR 8799. Our combined program will yield new, novel results on 
planet formation for up to eight systems.