The Widest-separation Substellar Companion Candidate to a Binary T Tauri Star

Details The Widest-separation Substellar Companion Candidate to a Binary T Tauri Star The Widest-separation Substellar Companion Candidate to a Binary T Tauri Star

Apr 2011

adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2011aj....141..119k&link_type=abstract

The Astronomical Journal, Volume 141, Issue 4, article id. 119 (2011).

Astronomy and Astrophysics

Astronomy

5

Brown Dwarfs, Planetary Systems, Stars: Low-Mass, Stars: Pre-Main Sequence

Scientific paper

The results of near-infrared imaging and spectroscopy of a substellar companion (SR12 C), with a possible planetary mass, of a binary T Tauri star (SR12 AB) in the ρ Ophiuchi star-forming region are presented. The object is separated by ~8farcs7, corresponding to ~1100 AU at 125 pc, and has an H-band brightness of 15.2 mag and infrared spectra suggesting a spectral type of M9.0 ± 0.5. It is confirmed that SR12 C is physically related to the ρ Ophiuchi star-forming region from its common proper motion with SR12 AB and its youth is confirmed by a gravity-sensitive spectral feature. Furthermore, based on the number of known members of the ρ Ophiuchi star-forming region in the area in which SR12 AB exists, the probability of a chance alignment is ~1% and it is therefore likely that SR12 C is physically associated with SR12 AB. The mass of SR12 C is estimated by comparing its estimated luminosity and assumed age with the theoretical age-luminosity relation. SR12 C is identified as an extremely low-mass (0.013 ± 0.007 M sun) object, but its separation from its parent star is the widest among planetary-mass companion (PMC) candidates imaged to date. In addition, SR12 C is the first PMC candidate directly imaged around a binary star. This discovery suggests that PMCs form via multiple star formation processes including disk gravitational instability and cloud core fragmentation.

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