A Multi-Wavelength Imaging Study of The V892 Tau Circumbinary Disk and Stellar Companion

Detections of mature exoplanets orbiting stellar multiples present an enigma in planet formation theory. By studying young binary systems with protoplanetary disks that display evidence of forming exoplanets (i.e holes, gaps, warping, and spirals), we can place direct constraints on planet formation mechanisms in multiple star systems. We present a multi-wavelength direct imaging study of V892 Tau, a young Herbig Ae/Be star with a close-in stellar companion and circumbinary disk. Our observations consist of images acquired via Keck 2/NIRC2 with non-redundant masking (NRM) and the pyramid wavefront sensor (pyWFS) at K band (2.2 μm) and L band (3.7 μm); sensitivity to young accreting planets is high at L band, and high angular resolution at K band is required for imaging the stellar companion located at a small orbital separation. From these images, we differentiate the secondary stellar emission from disk emission. We fit astrometric and photometric parameters to the stellar binary companion using the K band images, and update the orbit and spectral energy distribution (SED) using our measurements and archival constraints. From the L band images, we model the asymmetric disk geometry and place limits on the presence of additional planetary mass companions. Lastly, we use contrast curves to benchmark the performance of NRM with the new pyWFS on Keck 2.