I am an associate professor in the Department of Physics & Astronomy at the University of Texas, San Antonio and an astrophysicist at the Subaru Telescope. I completed my PhD thesis work at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics with Scott Kenyon.
My research primarily focuses on directly imaging extrasolar planets, including both science programs and instrumentation/data analysis advances. The "News" section below lists very recent results in these areas. For additional information, you can read more about these topics on my Research Projects page.
If you have any questions, you can contact me at currie at naoj.org or thayne.currie at utsa.edu .
My research primarily focuses on directly imaging extrasolar planets, including both science programs and instrumentation/data analysis advances. The "News" section below lists very recent results in these areas. For additional information, you can read more about these topics on my Research Projects page.
If you have any questions, you can contact me at currie at naoj.org or thayne.currie at utsa.edu .
Latest News
(April 2023) - In a new paper published in Science, we report the discovery of HIP 99770 b, a superjovian planet orbiting a dusty A-type star detected with SCExAO/CHARIS high-contrast imaging (assisted by Keck/NIRC2) and precision astrometry from the European Space Agency's Gaia and Hipparcos satellites. HIP 99770 b is the first joint direct imaging and astrometric discovery of an extrasolar planet and the first confirmed exoplanet discovery from Gaia precision astrometric data.
Because we have both relative astrometry of HIP 99770 b (from imaging) and absolute astrometry of the star (from Gaia and Hipparcos), we can simultaneously weigh and constrain the orbit of the planet. HIP 99770 b is in a low-eccentricity orbit about 17 au from its host star, receiving an amount of light similar to that reaching Jupiter. We derive a dynamical mass of 13.9 to 16.1 Jupiter masses. The planet-to-star mass ratio [7--8e-3] is similar to that of other directly imaged planets. Its CHARIS spectrum plus photometry from Keck/NIRC2 indicates an older, less cloudy analog of the previously imaged exoplanets around HR 8799.
HIP 99770 b's discovery is a direct proof-of-concept for a fundamentally new strategy for finding planets we can image: selecting targets based on dynamical evidence from indirect methods like astrometry instead of conducting blind searches. This combined approach prefigures the campaigns that could one day directly detect and characterize an extrasolar Earth-like planet.
See the paper (preprint; Science paper) and press releases from Subaru, ESA, Keck, and UTSA.
Because we have both relative astrometry of HIP 99770 b (from imaging) and absolute astrometry of the star (from Gaia and Hipparcos), we can simultaneously weigh and constrain the orbit of the planet. HIP 99770 b is in a low-eccentricity orbit about 17 au from its host star, receiving an amount of light similar to that reaching Jupiter. We derive a dynamical mass of 13.9 to 16.1 Jupiter masses. The planet-to-star mass ratio [7--8e-3] is similar to that of other directly imaged planets. Its CHARIS spectrum plus photometry from Keck/NIRC2 indicates an older, less cloudy analog of the previously imaged exoplanets around HR 8799.
HIP 99770 b's discovery is a direct proof-of-concept for a fundamentally new strategy for finding planets we can image: selecting targets based on dynamical evidence from indirect methods like astrometry instead of conducting blind searches. This combined approach prefigures the campaigns that could one day directly detect and characterize an extrasolar Earth-like planet.
See the paper (preprint; Science paper) and press releases from Subaru, ESA, Keck, and UTSA.
(April-May 2022) - Using Subaru/SCExAO and Hubble Space Telescope, we find evidence for a jovian protoplanet around AB Aurigae orbiting at a wide projected separation (93 au). The protoplanet, AB Aur b, is plausibly responsible for multiple planet-induced features in the disk. AB Aur b's emission is reproducible as reprocessed radiation from an embedded protoplanet. The 13-year time baseline provided by SCExAO and HST give evidence that AB Aur b is undergoing orbital motion.
The discovery provides a critical early look at jovian planet formation in the embedded stage and at a wide separation comparable to those for With at least one clump-like protoplanet and multiple spiral arms, the AB Aur system may also provide the evidence for a long-considered alternative to the canonical model for Jupiter's formation: disk (gravitational) instability.
See the paper (preprint; Nature Astronomy paper) and Subaru/HST press releases for more details.
Separately, we are pleased to present our review of the exoplanet direct imaging field that will be published as a part of Protostars & Planets VII. This review chapter covers instrumentation and science results with direct imaging, with particular attention paid to new results in the past 5-6 years and the path forward for this field. We hope that it becomes a useful resource for many years to come, for both seasoned experts and for undergraduates/graduate students looking to get started in this research area.
The discovery provides a critical early look at jovian planet formation in the embedded stage and at a wide separation comparable to those for With at least one clump-like protoplanet and multiple spiral arms, the AB Aur system may also provide the evidence for a long-considered alternative to the canonical model for Jupiter's formation: disk (gravitational) instability.
See the paper (preprint; Nature Astronomy paper) and Subaru/HST press releases for more details.
Separately, we are pleased to present our review of the exoplanet direct imaging field that will be published as a part of Protostars & Planets VII. This review chapter covers instrumentation and science results with direct imaging, with particular attention paid to new results in the past 5-6 years and the path forward for this field. We hope that it becomes a useful resource for many years to come, for both seasoned experts and for undergraduates/graduate students looking to get started in this research area.
(December 2020) - We present the SCExAO/CHARIS's first discovery: a directly imaged substellar companion orbiting the nearby accelerating Sun-like star, HD 33632 A. Two epochs of SCExAO/CHARIS data supplemented by Keck/NIRC2 Lp imaging reveal a faint companion, HD 33632 Ab, at a projected separation of ~20 au.
HD 33632 Ab's spectrum is most consistent with an L/T transition object: an older, higher-gravity, and less dusty counterpart to HR 8799 cde. Relative astrometry of the companion, Gaia/Hipparcos absolute astrometry of the star, and archival Lick Observatory radial velocities combine to yield a precise dynamical mass of ~46 Jupiter masses but a low eccentricity that may be more typical of directly-imaged exoplanets than brown dwarf companions.
This work is a proof-of-concept that using Gaia to select for direct imaging observations with the newest extreme adaptive optics systems can reveal substellar or even planet-mass companions on solar system–like scales at an increased frequency compared to blind surveys.
The paper is now published as Currie, Brandt, & Kuzuhara et al. 2020, ApJL, 904, L25. A preprint of the paper is here: link
See press releases from Subaru and Keck on this discovery.
(December 2020) - Our PASP paper demonstrating Spatial Linear Dark Field Control (LDFC) at contrasts relevant for imaging extrasolar planets in reflected light with space-borne coronagraphs like Roman-CGI and image exo-Earths around low-mass stars with future ground-based 30 m class telescopes. In four separate experiments and for a range of different perturbations, LDFC largely restores and maintains a DH whose contrast is degraded by phase errors by an order of magnitude. In comparison, our implementation of classical speckle nulling requires a factor of 2-5 more iterations and 20-50 deformable mirror (DM) commands to reach the same contrasts. Our results provide a promising path forward to maintaining dark holes without relying on DM probing and in the low-flux regime, which may enhance our ability to image true solar system analogues in the next two decades.
The paper is now published as Currie, Pluzhnik, & Guyon et al. 2020, PASP, 132, 1016 . A preprint of the paper is here: link
The paper is now published as Currie, Pluzhnik, & Guyon et al. 2020, PASP, 132, 1016 . A preprint of the paper is here: link