HD 106906 b: A Planetary-mass Companion Outside a Massive Debris Disk

January 2014 • 2014ApJ...780L...4B

Authors • Bailey, Vanessa • Meshkat, Tiffany • Reiter, Megan • Morzinski, Katie • Males, Jared • Su, Kate Y. L. • Hinz, Philip M. • Kenworthy, Matthew • Stark, Daniel • Mamajek, Eric • Briguglio, Runa • Close, Laird M. • Follette, Katherine B. • Puglisi, Alfio • Rodigas, Timothy • Weinberger, Alycia J. • Xompero, Marco

Abstract • We report the discovery of a planetary-mass companion, HD 106906 b, with the new Magellan Adaptive Optics (MagAO) + Clio2 system. The companion is detected with Clio2 in three bands: J, K_S , and L', and lies at a projected separation of 7.''1 (650 AU). It is confirmed to be comoving with its 13 ± 2 Myr F5 host using Hubble Space Telescope Advanced Camera for Surveys astrometry over a time baseline of 8.3 yr. DUSTY and COND evolutionary models predict that the companion's luminosity corresponds to a mass of 11 ± 2 M _Jup, making it one of the most widely separated planetary-mass companions known. We classify its Magellan/Folded-Port InfraRed Echellette J/H/K spectrum as L2.5 ± 1; the triangular H-band morphology suggests an intermediate surface gravity. HD 106906 A, a pre-main-sequence Lower Centaurus Crux member, was initially targeted because it hosts a massive debris disk detected via infrared excess emission in unresolved Spitzer imaging and spectroscopy. The disk emission is best fit by a single component at 95 K, corresponding to an inner edge of 15-20 AU and an outer edge of up to 120 AU. If the companion is on an eccentric (e > 0.65) orbit, it could be interacting with the outer edge of the disk. Close-in, planet-like formation followed by scattering to the current location would likely disrupt the disk and is disfavored. Furthermore, we find no additional companions, though we could detect similar-mass objects at projected separations >35 AU. In situ formation in a binary-star-like process is more probable, although the companion-to-primary mass ratio, at <1%, is unusually small.

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