Dynamical masses of giant planets and brown dwarfs are critical tools for empirically validating substellar evolutionary models and their underlying assumptions. We present a measurement of the dynamical mass and an updated orbit of PZ Tel B, a young brown dwarf companion orbiting a late-G member of the
In order to assess the multiplicity statistics of stars across spectral types and populations in a volume-limited sample, we censused nearby stars for companions with Robo-AO. We report on observations of 1157 stars of all spectral types within 25 pc with decl. >−13° searching for tight companions. We detected 154 companion candidates with separations ranging from ∼0.″15 to 4.″0 and magnitude differences up to Δ
- NSF-PAR ID:
- 10365775
- Publisher / Repository:
- DOI PREFIX: 10.3847
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- The Astronomical Journal
- Volume:
- 163
- Issue:
- 5
- ISSN:
- 0004-6256
- Format(s):
- Medium: X Size: Article No. 200
- Size(s):
- ["Article No. 200"]
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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Abstract β Pic moving group. PZ Tel A exhibits an astrometric acceleration between Hipparcos and Gaia EDR3, which enables the direct determination of the companion’s mass. We have also acquired new Keck/NIRC2 adaptive optics imaging of the system, which increases the total baseline of relative astrometry to 15 yr. Our joint orbit fit yields a dynamical mass of , semimajor axis of , eccentricity of , and inclination of . The companion’s mass is consistent within 1.1σ of predictions from four grids of hot-start evolutionary models. The joint orbit fit also indicates a more modest eccentricity of PZ Tel B than previous results. PZ Tel joins a small number of young (<200 Myr) systems with benchmark substellar companions that have dynamical masses and precise ages from moving group membership. -
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Abstract Benchmark brown dwarf companions with well-determined ages and model-independent masses are powerful tools to test substellar evolutionary models and probe the formation of giant planets and brown dwarfs. Here, we report the independent discovery of HIP 21152 B, the first imaged brown dwarf companion in the Hyades, and conduct a comprehensive orbital and atmospheric characterization of the system. HIP 21152 was targeted in an ongoing high-contrast imaging campaign of stars exhibiting proper-motion changes between Hipparcos and Gaia, and was also recently identified by Bonavita et al. (2022) and Kuzuhara et al. (2022). Our Keck/NIRC2 and SCExAO/CHARIS imaging of HIP 21152 revealed a comoving companion at a separation of 0.″37 (16 au). We perform a joint orbit fit of all available relative astrometry and radial velocities together with the Hipparcos-Gaia proper motions, yielding a dynamical mass of
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