A DEEP KECK/NIRC2 SEARCH FOR THERMAL EMISSION FROM PLANETARY COMPANIONS ORBITING FOMALHAUT

We present deep Keck/NIRC2 1.6 and 3.8 μm imaging of Fomalhaut to constrain the near-infrared brightness of Fomalhaut b, recently confirmed as a likely planet, and search for additional planets at rproj = 15–150 AU. Using advanced/novel point spread function subtraction techniques, we identify seven candidate substellar companions Fomalhaut b-like projected separations. However, multi-epoch data show them to be background objects. We set a new …