Discovery of a Low-Mass Companion to the Solar-Type Star TYC 2534-698-1

Abstract

Brown dwarfs and low-mass stellar companions are interesting objects to study since they occupy the mass region between deuterium and hydrogen burning. We report here the serendipitous discovery of a low-mass companion in an eccentric orbit around a solar-type main sequence star. The stellar primary, TYC 2534-698-1, is a G2V star that was monitored both spectroscopically and photometrically over the course of several months. Radial velocity observations indicate a minimum mass of 0.037 M_solar and an orbital period of ~103 days for the companion. Photometry outside of the transit window shows the star to be stable to within ~6 millimags. The semi-major axis of the orbit places the companion in the 'brown dwarf desert' and we discuss potential follow-up observations that could constrain the mass of the companion.Comment: 6 pages, 8 figures, accepted for publication in Ap