32 research outputs found
Dynamical Mass of the Young Brown Dwarf Companion PZ Tel B
Dynamical masses of giant planets and brown dwarfs are critical tools for
empirically validating substellar evolutionary models and their underlying
assumptions. We present a measurement of the dynamical mass and an updated
orbit of PZ Tel B, a young brown dwarf companion orbiting a late-G member of
the Pic moving group. PZ Tel A exhibits an astrometric acceleration
between Hipparcos and Gaia EDR3, which enables the direct determination of the
companion's mass. We have also acquired new Keck/NIRC2 adaptive optics imaging
of the system, which increases the total baseline of relative astrometry to 15
years. Our joint orbit fit yields a dynamical mass of , semi-major axis of ,
eccentricity of , and inclination of
. The companion's mass is consistent within
of predictions from four grids of hot-start evolutionary models.
The joint orbit fit also indicates a more modest eccentricity of PZ Tel B than
previous results. PZ Tel joins a small number of young () systems with benchmark substellar companions that have dynamical
masses and precise ages from moving group membership.Comment: 14 pages, 5 figures, accepted to A
The McDonald Accelerating Stars Survey (MASS): White Dwarf Companions Accelerating the Sun-like Stars 12 Psc and HD 159062
We present the discovery of a white dwarf companion to the G1 V star 12 Psc
found as part of a Keck adaptive optics imaging survey of long-term
accelerating stars from the McDonald Observatory Planet Search Program. Twenty
years of precise radial-velocity monitoring of 12 Psc with the Tull
Spectrograph at the Harlan J. Smith telescope reveals a moderate radial
acceleration (10 m s yr ), which together with relative
astrometry from Keck/NIRC2 and the astrometric acceleration between
and DR2 yields a dynamical mass of = 0.605
for 12 Psc B, a semi-major axis of 40 AU, and an
eccentricity of 0.840.08. We also report an updated orbit fit of the white
dwarf companion to the metal-poor (but barium-rich) G9 V dwarf HD 159062 based
on new radial velocity observations from the High-Resolution Spectrograph at
the Hobby-Eberly Telescope and astrometry from Keck/NIRC2. A joint fit of the
available relative astrometry, radial velocities, and tangential astrometric
acceleration yields a dynamical mass of = 0.609
for HD 159062 B, a semi-major axis of 60 AU, and
preference for circular orbits (0.42 at 95% confidence). 12 Psc B and HD
159062 B join a small list of resolved "Sirius-like" benchmark white dwarfs
with precise dynamical mass measurements which serve as valuable tests of white
dwarf mass-radius cooling models and probes of AGB wind accretion onto their
main-sequence companions.Comment: Accepted to A
The McDonald Accelerating Stars Survey (MASS): White Dwarf Companions Accelerating the Sun-like Stars 12 Psc and HD 159062
We present the discovery of a white dwarf companion to the G1 V star 12 Psc found as part of a Keck adaptive optics imaging survey of long-term accelerating stars from the McDonald Observatory Planet Search Program. Twenty years of precise radial-velocity monitoring of 12 Psc with the Tull Spectrograph at the Harlan J. Smith telescope reveals a moderate radial acceleration (≈10 m s⁻¹ yr ⁻¹), which together with relative astrometry from Keck/NIRC2 and the astrometric acceleration between Hipparcos and Gaia DR2 yields a dynamical mass of M_B = 0.605^(+0.021)_(−0.022) M ⊙ for 12 Psc B, a semimajor axis of 40⁺²₋₄ au, and an eccentricity of 0.84 ± 0.08. We also report an updated orbital fit of the white dwarf companion to the metal-poor (but barium-rich) G9 V dwarf HD 159062 based on new radial-velocity observations from the High-Resolution Spectrograph at the Hobby–Eberly Telescope and astrometry from Keck/NIRC2. A joint fit of the available relative astrometry, radial velocities, and tangential astrometric acceleration yields a dynamical mass of M_B = 0.609^(+0.010)_(−0.011) M⊙ for HD 159062 B, a semimajor axis of 60⁺⁵₋₇ au, and preference for circular orbits (e < 0.42 at 95% confidence). 12 Psc B and HD 159062 B join a small list of resolved Sirius-like benchmark white dwarfs with precise dynamical mass measurements which serve as valuable tests of white dwarf mass–radius cooling models and probes of AGB wind accretion onto their main-sequence companions
ELemental abundances of Planets and brown dwarfs Imaged around Stars (ELPIS): I. Potential Metal Enrichment of the Exoplanet AF Lep b and a Novel Retrieval Approach for Cloudy Self-luminous Atmospheres
AF Lep A+b is a remarkable planetary system hosting a gas-giant planet that
has the lowest dynamical mass among directly imaged exoplanets. We present an
in-depth analysis of the atmospheric composition of the star and planet to
probe the planet's formation pathway. Based on new high-resolution spectroscopy
of AF Lep A, we measure a uniform set of stellar parameters and elemental
abundances (e.g., [Fe/H] = dex). The planet's dynamical mass
( M) and orbit are also refined using published
radial velocities, relative astrometry, and absolute astrometry. We use
petitRADTRANS to perform chemically-consistent atmospheric retrievals for AF
Lep b. The radiative-convective equilibrium temperature profiles are
incorporated as parameterized priors on the planet's thermal structure, leading
to a robust characterization for cloudy self-luminous atmospheres. This novel
approach is enabled by constraining the temperature-pressure profiles via the
temperature gradient , a departure from previous studies
that solely modeled the temperature. Through multiple retrievals performed on
different portions of the m spectrophotometry, along with
different priors on the planet's mass and radius, we infer that AF Lep b likely
possesses a metal-enriched atmosphere ([Fe/H] dex). AF Lep b's
potential metal enrichment may be due to planetesimal accretion, giant impacts,
and/or core erosion. The first process coincides with the debris disk in the
system, which could be dynamically excited by AF Lep b and lead to planetesimal
bombardment. Our analysis also determines K,
dex, and the presence of silicate clouds and
dis-equilibrium chemistry in the atmosphere. Straddling the L/T transition, AF
Lep b is thus far the coldest exoplanet with suggested evidence of silicate
clouds.Comment: AJ, in press. Main text: Pages 1-32, Figures 1-15, Tables 1-6. All
figures and tables after References belong to the Appendix (Pages 32-58,
Figures 16-20, Table 7). For supplementary materials, please refer to the
Zenodo repository https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.826746
Rotation Periods, Inclinations, and Obliquities of Cool Stars Hosting Directly Imaged Substellar Companions: Spin-Orbit Misalignments are Common
The orientation between a star's spin axis and a planet's orbital plane
provides valuable information about the system's formation and dynamical
history. For non-transiting planets at wide separations, true stellar
obliquities are challenging to measure, but lower limits on spin-orbit
orientations can be determined from the difference between the inclination of
the star's rotational axis and the companion's orbital plane (). We
present results of a uniform analysis of rotation periods, stellar
inclinations, and obliquities of cool stars (SpT F5) hosting directly
imaged planets and brown dwarf companions. As part of this effort, we have
acquired new values for 22 host stars with the high-resolution
Tull spectrograph at the Harlan J. Smith telescope. Altogether our sample
contains 62 host stars with rotation periods, most of which are newly measured
using light curves from the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite. Among these,
53 stars have inclinations determined from projected rotational and equatorial
velocities, and 21 stars predominantly hosting brown dwarfs have constraints on
. Eleven of these (52% of the sample) are likely
misaligned, while the remaining ten host stars are consistent with spin-orbit
alignment. As an ensemble, the minimum obliquity distribution between 10-250 AU
is more consistent with a mixture of isotropic and aligned systems than either
extreme scenario alone--pointing to direct cloud collapse, formation within
disks bearing primordial alignments and misalignments, or architectures
processed by dynamical evolution. This contrasts with stars hosting directly
imaged planets, which show a preference for low obliquities. These results
reinforce an emerging distinction between the orbits of long-period brown
dwarfs and giant planets in terms of their stellar obliquities and orbital
eccentricities.Comment: AJ, accepte
The McDonald Accelerating Stars Survey (MASS):Discovery of a Long-Period Substellar Companion Orbiting the Old Solar Analog HD 47127
Brown dwarfs with well-determined ages, luminosities, and masses provide rare
but valuable tests of low-temperature atmospheric and evolutionary models. We
present the discovery and dynamical mass measurement of a substellar companion
to HD 47127, an old (7-10 Gyr) G5 main sequence star with a mass
similar to the Sun. Radial velocities of the host star with the Harlan J. Smith
Telescope uncovered a low-amplitude acceleration of 1.93 0.08 m s
yr based on 20 years of monitoring. We subsequently recovered a faint
(=13.14 0.15 mag) co-moving companion at 1.95 (52 AU) with
follow-up Keck/NIRC2 adaptive optics imaging. The radial acceleration of HD
47127 together with its tangential acceleration from Hipparcos and Gaia EDR3
astrometry provide a direct measurement of the three-dimensional acceleration
vector of the host star, enabling a dynamical mass constraint for HD 47127 B
(67.5-177 at 95% confidence) despite the small fractional
orbital coverage of the observations. The absolute -band magnitude of HD
47127 B is fainter than the benchmark T dwarfs HD 19467 B and Gl 229 B but
brighter than Gl 758 B and HD 4113 C, suggesting a late-T spectral type.
Altogether the mass limits for HD 47127 B from its dynamical mass and the
substellar boundary imply a range of 67-78 assuming it is
single, although a preference for high masses of 100
from dynamical constraints hints at the possibility that HD 47127 B could
itself be a binary pair of brown dwarfs or that another massive companion
resides closer in. Regardless, HD 47127 B will be an excellent target for more
refined orbital and atmospheric characterization in the future.Comment: Accepted to ApJ Letter
Surveying Nearby Brown Dwarfs with HGCA: Direct Imaging Discovery of a Faint, High-Mass Brown Dwarf Orbiting HD 176535 A
Brown dwarfs with well-measured masses, ages and luminosities provide direct
benchmark tests of substellar formation and evolutionary models. We report the
first results from a direct imaging survey aiming to find and characterize
substellar companions to nearby accelerating stars with the assistance of the
Hipparcos-Gaia Catalog of Accelerations (HGCA). In this paper, we present a
joint high-contrast imaging and astrometric discovery of a substellar companion
to HD 176535 A, a K3.5V main-sequence star aged approximately
Gyrs at a distance of pc. In advance of
our high-contrast imaging observations, we combined precision HARPS RVs and
HGCA astrometry to predict the potential companion's location and mass. We
thereafter acquired two nights of KeckAO/NIRC2 direct imaging observations in
the band, which revealed a companion with a contrast of mag at a projected separation of 0.\!\!''35
(13 AU) from the host star. We revise our orbital fit by incorporating
our dual-epoch relative astrometry using the open-source MCMC orbit fitting
code . HD 176535 B is a new benchmark dwarf useful for constraining
the evolutionary and atmospheric models of high-mass brown dwarfs. We found a
luminosity of and a model-dependent
effective temperature of K for HD 176535 B. Our dynamical mass
suggests that some substellar evolutionary models may be underestimating
luminosity for high-mass T dwarfs. Given its angular separation and luminosity,
HD 176535 B would make a promising candidate for Aperture Masking
Interferometry with JWST and GRAVITY/KPIC, and further spectroscopic
characterization with instruments like the CHARIS/SCExAO/Subaru integral field
spectrograph
Evidence for Color Dichotomy in the Primordial Neptunian Trojan Population
In the current model of early Solar System evolution, the stable members of
the Jovian and Neptunian Trojan populations were captured into resonance from
the leftover reservoir of planetesimals during the outward migration of the
giant planets. As a result, both Jovian and Neptunian Trojans share a common
origin with the primordial disk population, whose other surviving members
constitute today's trans-Neptunian object (TNO) populations. The cold classical
TNOs are ultra-red, while the dynamically excited "hot" population of TNOs
contains a mixture of ultra-red and blue objects. In contrast, Jovian and
Neptunian Trojans are observed to be blue. While the absence of ultra-red
Jovian Trojans can be readily explained by the sublimation of volatile material
from their surfaces due to the high flux of solar radiation at 5AU, the lack of
ultra-red Neptunian Trojans presents both a puzzle and a challenge to formation
models. In this work we report the discovery by the Dark Energy Survey (DES) of
two new dynamically stable L4 Neptunian Trojans,2013 VX30 and 2014 UU240, both
with inclinations i >30 degrees, making them the highest-inclination known
stable Neptunian Trojans. We have measured the colors of these and three other
dynamically stable Neptunian Trojans previously observed by DES, and find that
2013 VX30 is ultra-red, the first such Neptunian Trojan in its class. As such,
2013 VX30 may be a "missing link" between the Trojan and TNO populations. Using
a simulation of the DES TNO detection efficiency, we find that there are 162
+/- 73 Trojans with Hr < 10 at the L4 Lagrange point of Neptune. Moreover, the
blue-to-red Neptunian Trojan population ratio should be higher than 17:1. Based
on this result, we discuss the possible origin of the ultra-red Neptunian
Trojan population and its implications for the formation history of Neptunian
Trojans
Trans-Neptunian objects found in the first four years of the Dark Energy Survey
We present a catalog of 316 trans-Neptunian bodies (TNOs) detected from the first four seasons ("Y4" data) of the Dark Energy Survey (DES). The survey covers a contiguous 5000 deg(2) of the southern sky in the grizY optical/NIR filter set, with a typical TNO in this part of the sky being targeted by 25-30 Y4 exposures. This paper focuses on the methods used to detect these objects from the 60,000 Y4 exposures, a process made challenging by the absence of the few-hour repeat observations employed by TNO-optimized surveys. Newly developed techniques include: transient/moving object detection by comparison of single-epoch catalogs to catalogs of "stacked" images; quantified astrometric error from atmospheric turbulence; new software for detecting TNO linkages in a temporally sparse transient catalog, and for estimating the rate of spurious linkages; use of faint stars to determine the detection efficiency versus magnitude in all exposures. Final validation of the reality of linked orbits uses a new "sub-threshold confirmation" test, wherein we demand the object be detectable in a stack of the exposures in which the orbit indicates an object should be present, but was not individually detected. This catalog contains all validated TNOs which were detected on >= 6 unique nights in the Y4 data, and is complete to r less than or similar to 23.3 mag with virtually no dependence on orbital properties for bound TNOs at distance 30 au d 0.3 mag more depth, and arcs of >4 yr for nearly all detections.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 [email protected]
Astrometric accelerations as dynamical beacons : discovery and characterization of HIP 21152 B, the First T-dwarf companion in the Hyades * * Based in part on data collected at Subaru Telescope, which is operated by the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan.
Benchmark brown dwarf companions with well-determined ages and model-independent masses are powerful tools to test substellar evolutionary models and probe the formation of giant planets and brown dwarfs. Here, we report the independent discovery of HIP 21152 B, the first imaged brown dwarf companion in the Hyades, and conduct a comprehensive orbital and atmospheric characterization of the system. HIP 21152 was targeted in an ongoing high-contrast imaging campaign of stars exhibiting proper-motion changes between Hipparcos and Gaia, and was also recently identified by Bonavita et al. (2022) and Kuzuhara et al. (2022). Our Keck/NIRC2 and SCExAO/CHARIS imaging of HIP 21152 revealed a comoving companion at a separation of 0.″37 (16 au). We perform a joint orbit fit of all available relative astrometry and radial velocities together with the Hipparcos-Gaia proper motions, yielding a dynamical mass of 24−4+6MJup , which is 1–2σ lower than evolutionary model predictions. Hybrid grids that include the evolution of cloud properties best reproduce the dynamical mass. We also identify a comoving wide-separation (1837″ or 7.9 × 104 au) early-L dwarf with an inferred mass near the hydrogen-burning limit. Finally, we analyze the spectra and photometry of HIP 21152 B using the Saumon & Marley (2008) atmospheric models and a suite of retrievals. The best-fit grid-based models have f sed = 2, indicating the presence of clouds, T eff = 1400 K, and logg=4.5dex . These results are consistent with the object’s spectral type of T0 ± 1. As the first benchmark brown dwarf companion in the Hyades, HIP 21152 B joins the small but growing number of substellar companions with well-determined ages and dynamical masses