Near-IR Spectrophotometry of 2MASSWJ 1207334-393254B - An Extra-Solar Planetary Mass Companion to a Young Brown Dwarf

Mathematics – Probability

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Hst Proposal Id #10538 Star Formation

Scientific paper

We propose to obtain "short" wavelength near-IR diagnostic and characterizing spectra of the very high probability candidate extra-solar giant planet {EGP} companion to 2MASSWJ 1207334-393254 {2M1207}, a young brown dwarf and TW Hydrae Association member. Recent NICMOS camera 1 multi-band photometric imaging of the companion candidate, 0.77" {54 AU projected} from 2M1207 - initially detected at longer wavelengths with VLT/NACO - implicate an object of several Jupiter masses based on cooling models of EGPs and the likely age of 2M1207 { 8 Myr}. Physical companionship of the EGP candidate with 2M1207 has been established at the 99.1% level of confidence via second-epoch NICMOS astrometric observations. Diagnostic spectra in the 0.8 to 1.9 micron region {unobtainable from the ground and overlapping the NICMOS imaging observations} will {a} critically inform on the physical nature of the EGP, {b} provide currently non-existing information to test/constrain theoretical models of EGP properties and evolution, and {c} unequivocally confirm the imaging of a bone fide EGP. Background light from 2M1207 would normally swamp the EGP spectrum with direct spectral imaging. To obviate this, we propose PSF-subtracted grism spectra of the EGP using 2M1207 as its own spectral template via two-orientation high-contrast image subtraction. The temporal stability of the HST+NICMOS PSF enables self-subtractions of targets at different field orientations resulting in contrast enhancements of 5 to 6 stellar magnitudes in the circumstellar background at 0.8" at these wavelengths. With the grism field oriented to place the EGP "above" and "below" 2M1207 {at two observational epochs} two independent spectra of the EGP will emerge from a difference image. This prototypical spectrum will serve to test and improve upon current models of young EGPs which predict flux suppression by molecular absorption in their atmospheres.

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