A Search for Planetary Mass Companions to Brown Dwarfs with HST

Details A Search for Planetary Mass Companions to Brown Dwarfs with HST A Search for Planetary Mass Companions to Brown Dwarfs with HST

Jan 2010

adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2010aas...21542429s&link_type=abstract

American Astronomical Society, AAS Meeting #215, #424.29; Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society, Vol. 42, p.335

Statistics

Scientific paper

While previous direct imaging surveys focused especially on searches for exoplanets around young stars in nearby association, we obtained high-resolution observations with HST/NICMOS of 12 nearby, relatively young L dwarfs, using the spectral differential imaging in an effort to optimize the brightness contrast and to be able to find planetary mass objects at small physical separations from their host. To this date, this is the only SDI survey for planetary mass companions around field brown dwarfs (not related to any young association or moving group) conducted from space or ground-based telescopes. Further, it is the solely one which used the water absorption spectroscopic feature instead of the methane feature.
The survey resolved two brown dwarf binaries (L0.5+L3pec and L9+T0) which could already be confirmed in follow-up observations. The derived separations of the binaries are smaller than 6 AU and consistent with previous brown dwarf binary statistics. The mass ratios of q ≥ 0.8 confirm the preference for equal mass systems similar to a large number of other surveys.
Another very interesting finding in this context was the identification of a tentative companion to a L4 dwarf, straddling the brown dwarf/planetary mass boundary and revealing an uncommonly low mass ratio system (q ≈ 0.3) compared to the vast majority of previously found brown dwarf binaries. A planetary nature of the secondary cannot be ruled out yet. However, it seems to be most likely a very low mass brown dwarf secondary at the border of the spectral T/Y transition regime because of its similarities to recently found very cool T dwarfs. This makes it one of the closest resolved brown dwarf binaries (0.087" ±0.015") with the coolest (Teff = 600-620K) and least massive companion to any L or T dwarf. However, the physical nature of this binary has yet to be confirmed.

Affiliated with

Also associated with

No associations

Rating

A Search for Planetary Mass Companions to Brown Dwarfs with HST does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this scientific paper.

If you have personal experience with A Search for Planetary Mass Companions to Brown Dwarfs with HST, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and A Search for Planetary Mass Companions to Brown Dwarfs with HST will most certainly appreciate the feedback.

Rate now

Comments { 0 }

Profile ID: LFWR-SCP-O-967330