PLANETS AROUND LOW-MASS STARS (PALMS). II. A LOW-MASS COMPANION TO THE YOUNG M DWARF GJ 3629 SEPARATED BY 0.''2
- Institute for Astronomy, University of Hawai'i, 2680 Woodlawn Drive, Honolulu, HI 96822 (United States)
- Lowell Observatory, 1400 W. Mars Hill Road, Flagstaff, AZ 86001 (United States)
- National Astronomical Observatory of Japan, 2-21-1 Osawa, Mitaka, Tokyo 181-8588 (Japan)
We present the discovery of a 0.''2 companion to the young M dwarf GJ 3629 as part of our high-contrast adaptive optics imaging search for giant planets around low-mass stars with the Keck-II and Subaru telescopes. Two epochs of imaging confirm that the pair is comoving and reveal signs of orbital motion. The primary exhibits saturated X-ray emission which, together with its UV photometry from GALEX, points to an age younger than {approx}300 Myr. At these ages the companion lies below the hydrogen burning limit with a model-dependent mass of 46 {+-} 16 M{sub Jup} based on the system's photometric distance of 22 {+-} 3 pc. Resolved YJHK photometry of the pair indicates a spectral type of M7 {+-} 2 for GJ 3629 B. With a projected separation of 4.4 {+-} 0.6 AU and an estimated orbital period of 21 {+-} 5 yr, GJ 3629 AB is likely to yield a dynamical mass in the next several years, making it one of only a handful of brown dwarfs to have a measured mass and an age constrained from the stellar primary.
- OSTI ID:
- 22092436
- Journal Information:
- Astrophysical Journal, Vol. 756, Issue 1; Other Information: Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 0004-637X
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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