CONFIRMATION OF ONE OF THE COLDEST KNOWN BROWN DWARFS
- Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802 (United States)
- Center for Astrophysics and Space Science, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093 (United States)
- Observatories of the Carnegie Institution for Science, 813 Santa Barbara Street, Pasadena, CA 91101 (United States)
- Los Alamos National Laboratory, P.O. Box 1663, MS F663, Los Alamos, NM 87545 (United States)
Using two epochs of 4.5 {mu}m images from the Infrared Array Camera (IRAC) on board the Spitzer Space Telescope, we recently identified a common proper motion companion to the white dwarf WD 0806-661 that is a candidate for the coldest known brown dwarf. To verify its cool nature, we have obtained images of this object at 3.6 {mu}m with IRAC, at J with the High Acuity Wide-field K-band Imager (HAWK-I) on the Very Large Telescope, and in a filter covering the red half of J with FourStar on Magellan. WD 0806-661 B is detected by IRAC but not HAWK-I or FourStar. From these data we measure colors of [3.6] - [4.5] = 2.77 {+-} 0.16 and J - [4.5] > 7.0 (S/N < 3). Based on these colors and its absolute magnitudes, WD 0806-661 B is the coldest companion directly imaged outside of the solar system and is a contender for the coldest known brown dwarf with the Y dwarf WISEP J1828+2650. It is unclear which of these two objects is colder given the available data. A comparison of its absolute magnitude at 4.5 {mu}m to the predictions of theoretical spectra and evolutionary models suggests that WD 0806-661 B has T{sub eff} = 300-345 K.
- OSTI ID:
- 22004190
- Journal Information:
- Astrophysical Journal, Vol. 744, Issue 2; Other Information: Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 0004-637X
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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