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Context. Proxima Centauri is the closest star to the Sun and it is known to host an Earth-like planet in its habitable zone; very recently a second candidate planet was proposed based on radial velocities. At quadrature, the expected projected separation of this new candidate is larger than 1 arcsec, making it a potentially interesting target for direct imaging.Aims. While identification of the optical counterpart of this planet is expected to be very difficult, successful identification would allow for a detailed characterization of the closest planetary system.Methods. We searched for a counterpart in SPHERE images acquired over four years through the SHINE survey. In order to account for the expected large orbital motion of the planet, we used a method that assumes the circular orbit obtained from radial velocities and exploits the sequence of observations acquired close to quadrature in the orbit. We checked this with a more general approach that considers Keplerian motion, called K-stacker.Results. We did not obtain a clear detection. The best candidate has signal-to-noise ratio (S/N) = 6.1 in the combined image. A statistical test suggests that the probability that this detection is due to random fluctuation of noise is away from the astrometric motion of Proxima as measured from early Gaia data. This, together with the unexpectedly high flux associated with our direct imaging detection, means we cannot confirm that our candidate is indeed Proxima c.Conclusions. On the other hand, if confirmed, this would be the first observation in imaging of a planet discovered from radial velocities and the second planet (after Fomalhaut b) of reflecting circumplanetary material. Further confirmation observations should be done as soon as possible. ; Progetto Premiale 2015 FRONTIERA of the Italian Ministry of Education, University, and Research OB.FU. 1.05.06.11 CONICYT + PAI/Convocatoria nacional subvención a la instalación en la academia, convocatoria 2017 + Folio PAI77170087 European Union (EU) 664931 Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) PZ00P2180098 Ministry of Education, Universities and Research (MIUR) Research Projects of National Relevance (PRIN) Programme National de Planetologie (PNP) Programme National de Physique Stellaire (PNPS) of CNRS-INSU French National Research Agency (ANR) ANR10 LABX56 Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS) French National Research Agency (ANR) ANR-14-CE330018 ESO Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS) MPIA (Germany) Istituto Nazionale Astrofisica (INAF) FINES (Switzerland) NOVA (Netherlands) European Union (EU) RII3-Ct-2004-001566 226604 312430 European Union (EU) RII3-Ct-2004-001566 226604 312430 French National Research Agency (ANR) ANR-15-IDEX-02

Context. CM-like asteroids (Ch and Cgh classes) are a major population within the broader C-complex, encompassing about 10% of the mass of the main asteroid belt. Their internal structure has been predicted to be homogeneous, based on their compositional similarity as inferred from spectroscopy and numerical modeling of their early thermal evolution. Aims. Here we aim to test this hypothesis by deriving the density of the CM-like asteroid (41) Daphne from detailed modeling of its shape and the orbit of its small satellite. Methods. We observed Daphne and its satellite within our imaging survey with the Very Large Telescope extreme adaptive-optics SPHERE/ZIMPOL camera and complemented this data set with earlier Keck/NIRC2 and VLT/NACO observations. We analyzed the dynamics of the satellite with our Genoid meta-heuristic algorithm. Combining our high-angular resolution images with optical lightcurves and stellar occultations, we determine the spin period, orientation, and 3D shape, using our ADAM shape modeling algorithm. Results. The satellite orbits Daphne on an equatorial, quasi-circular, prograde orbit, like the satellites of many other large main-belt asteroids. The shape model of Daphne reveals several large flat areas that could be large impact craters. The mass determined from this orbit combined with the volume computed from the shape model implies a density for Daphne of 1.77 +/- 0.26 g cm(-3) (3 sigma). This density is consistent with a primordial CM-like homogeneous internal structure with some level of macroporosity (approximate to 17%). Conclusions. Based on our analysis of the density of Daphne and 75 other Ch/Cgh-type asteroids gathered from the literature, we conclude that the primordial internal structure of the CM parent bodies was homogeneous. ; ESO programs [281.C-5011, 099.D-0098, 199.C-0074(A)]; W.M. Keck Foundation; Paris Observatory; National Science Foundation; NASA; CNRS/INSU/PNP; Czech Science Foundation [18-09470S]; European Union's Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Programme [687378]; Belgian Fund for Scientific Research (Fond National de la Recherche Scientifique, FNRS) [FRFC 2.5.594.09]; University of Liege; Canadian Space Agency; National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Office of Space Science, Planetary Astronomy Program [NCC 5-538]; NASA [09-NEOO009-0001]; National Science Foundation [0506716, 0907766] ; Open access journal. ; This item from the UA Faculty Publications collection is made available by the University of Arizona with support from the University of Arizona Libraries. If you have questions, please contact us at repository@u.library.arizona.edu.