Through the combination of high-order adaptive optics and coronagraphy, we report the discovery of a faint stellar companion to the A3V star zeta Virginis. This companion is {approx}7 mag fainter ...than its host star in the H band, and infrared imaging spanning 4.75 years over five epochs indicates this companion has common proper motion with its host star. Using evolutionary models, we estimate its mass to be 0.168{sup +0.012}{sub -0.016} M{sub sun}, giving a mass ratio for this system q = 0.082{sup +0.007}{sub -0.008}. Assuming the two objects are coeval, this mass suggests an M4V-M7V spectral type for the companion, which is confirmed through {integral} field spectroscopic measurements. We see clear evidence for orbital motion from this companion and are able to constrain the semimajor axis to be {approx}>24.9 AU, the period {approx}>124 yr, and eccentricity {approx}>0.16. Multiplicity studies of higher mass stars are relatively rare, and binary companions such as this one at the extreme low end of the mass ratio distribution are useful additions to surveys incomplete at such a low mass ratio. Moreover, the frequency of binary companions can help to discriminate between binary formation scenarios that predict an abundance of low-mass companions forming from the early fragmentation of a massive circumstellar disk. A system such as this may provide insight into the anomalous X-ray emission from A stars, hypothesized to be from unseen late-type stellar companions. Indeed, we calculate that the presence of this M-dwarf companion easily accounts for the X-ray emission from this star detected by ROSAT.
At q = 1.81 ± 0.20 × 10-5, KMT-2018-BLG-0029Lb has the lowest planet-host mass ratio q of any microlensing planet to date by more than a factor of two. Hence, it is the first planet that probes below ...the apparent "pile-up" at q = 5-10 ×10-5. The event was observed by Spitzer, yielding a microlens-parallax πE measurement. Combined with a measurement of the Einstein radius θE from finite-source effects during the caustic crossings, these measurements imply masses of the host Mhost = 1.14+0.10-0.12 M⊙ and planet Mplanet = 7.59+0.75-0.69 M⊕, system distance DL = 3.38+0.22-0.26 kpc and projected separation a⊥ = 4.27+0.21-0.23 AU. The blended light, which is substantially brighter than the microlensed source, is plausibly due to the lens and could be observed at high resolution immediately.
In our effort to complete the census of low-mass stars and brown dwarfs in the immediate solar neighborhood, we present spectra, photometry, proper motions, and distance estimates for 42 low-mass ...star and brown dwarf candidates discovered by the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE). We also present additional follow-up information on 12 candidates selected usingWISEdata but previously published elsewhere. The new discoveries include 15 M dwarfs, 17 L dwarfs, five T dwarfs, and five objects of other types. Among these discoveries is a newly identified “unusually red L dwarf” (WISE
J223527.07 + 451140.9
J
223527.07
+
451140.9
), four peculiar L dwarfs whose spectra are most readily explained as unresolvedL + T
L
+
T
binary systems, and a T9 dwarf (WISE
J124309.61 + 844547.8
J
124309.61
+
844547.8
). We also show that the recently discovered red L dwarfWISEP
J004701.06 + 680352.1
J
004701.06
+
680352.1
may be a low-gravity object and hence young and potentially low-mass (< 25 M
Jup
<
25
M
Jup
).
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The nearby star {alpha} Oph (Ras Alhague) is a rapidly rotating A5IV star spinning at {approx} 89% of its breakup velocity. This system has been imaged extensively by interferometric techniques, ...giving a precise geometric model of the star's oblateness and the resulting temperature variation on the stellar surface. Fortuitously, {alpha} Oph has a previously known stellar companion, and characterization of the orbit provides an independent, dynamically based check of both the host star and the companion mass. Such measurements are crucial to constrain models of such rapidly rotating stars. In this study, we combine eight years of adaptive optics imaging data from the Palomar, AEOS, and CFHT telescopes to derive an improved, astrometric characterization of the companion orbit. We also use photometry from these observations to derive a model-based estimate of the companion mass. A fit was performed on the photocenter motion of this system to extract a component mass ratio. We find masses of 2.40{sup +0.23}{sub -0.37} M{sub sun} and 0.85{sup +0.06}{sub -0.04} M{sub sun} for {alpha} Oph A and {alpha} Oph B, respectively. Previous orbital studies of this system found a mass too high for this system, inconsistent with stellar evolutionary calculations. Our measurements of the host star mass are more consistent with these evolutionary calculations, but with slightly higher uncertainties. In addition to the dynamically derived masses, we use IJHK photometry to derive a model-based mass for {alpha} Oph B, of 0.77 {+-} 0.05 M{sub sun} marginally consistent with the dynamical masses derived from our orbit. Our model fits predict a periastron passage on 2012 April 19, with the two components having a 50 mas separation from 2012 March to May. A modest amount of interferometric and radial velocity data during this period could provide a mass determination of this star at the few percent level.
We present observations of the T8 dwarf 2MASS 0415-0935 with JWST's NIRSpec spectrograph using the G395H grating (\(\sim\) 2.87 - 5.14 \(\mu\)m). We perform the first atmospheric retrieval analysis ...at the maximum spectral resolution of NIRSpec (R\(\sim\)2700) and combine the spectrum with previous observations to study the 0.9-20 \(\mu\)m spectral energy distribution. We obtain precise constraints on chemical abundances (\(\sim\)0.02 dex) for a number of species which complicate our understanding of disequilibrium chemistry, particularly for CO\(_{2}\) and PH\(_{3}\). Furthermore, we measure a \(^{12}\)CO/\(^{13}\)CO ratio of \(\sim 97^{+9}_{-8}\), making 2MASS 0415-0935 the coldest (\(\sim 760\) K) substellar object outside of our solar system with a measured \(^{12}\)CO/\(^{13}\)CO ratio. This work shows promise for similar observations with JWST to provide precise abundances of major chemical species as well as isotopologues, allowing for new tests of our understanding of the formation and atmospheres of substellar objects.
Beyond our solar system, aurorae have been inferred from radio observations of isolated brown dwarfs (e.g. Hallinan et al. 2006; Kao et al. 2023). Within our solar system, giant planets have auroral ...emission with signatures across the electromagnetic spectrum including infrared emission of H3+ and methane. Isolated brown dwarfs with auroral signatures in the radio have been searched for corresponding infrared features but have only had null detections (e.g. Gibbs et al. 2022). CWISEP J193518.59-154620.3. (W1935 for short) is an isolated brown dwarf with a temperature of ~482 K. Here we report JWST observations of strong methane emission from W1935 at 3.326 microns. Atmospheric modeling leads us to conclude that a temperature inversion of ~300 K centered at 1-10 millibar replicates the feature. This represents an atmospheric temperature inversion for a Jupiter-like atmosphere without irradiation from a host star. A plausible explanation for the strong inversion is heating by auroral processes, although other internal and/or external dynamical processes cannot be ruled out. The best fit model rules out the contribution of H3+ emission which is prominent in solar system gas giants however this is consistent with rapid destruction of H3+ at the higher pressure where the W1935 emission originates (e.g. Helling et al. 2019).
The JWST NIRSpec integral field unit (IFU) presents a unique opportunity to observe directly imaged exoplanets from 3-5 um at moderate spectral resolution (R~2,700) and thereby better constrain the ...composition, disequilibrium chemistry, and cloud properties of their atmospheres. In this work, we present the first NIRSpec IFU high-contrast observations of a substellar companion that requires starlight suppression techniques. We develop specific data reduction strategies to study faint companions around bright stars, and assess the performance of NIRSpec at high contrast. First, we demonstrate an approach to forward model the companion signal and the starlight directly in the detector images, which mitigates the effects of NIRSpec's spatial undersampling. We demonstrate a sensitivity to planets that are 3e-6 fainter than their stars at 1'', or 3e-5 at 0.3''. Then, we implement a reference star point spread function (PSF) subtraction and a spectral extraction that does not require spatially and spectrally regularly sampled spectral cubes. This allows us to extract a moderate resolution (R~2,700) spectrum of the faint T-dwarf companion HD 19467 B from 2.9-5.2 um with signal-to-noise ratio (S/N)~10 per resolution element. Across this wavelength range, HD~19467~B has a flux ratio varying between 1e-5-1e-4 and a separation relative to its star of 1.6''. A companion paper by Hoch et al. more deeply analyzes the atmospheric properties of this companion based on the extracted spectrum. Using the methods developed here, NIRSpec's sensitivity may enable direct detection and spectral characterization of relatively old (~1 Gyr), cool (~250 K), and closely separated (~3-5 au) exoplanets that are less massive than Jupiter.
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