EDP Sciences Journals List
Advanced Search
Subscriber Authentication Point
Home All issues Volume 438/3 Article
Free access article

Issue A&A
Volume 438, Number 3, August II 2005
Page(s) L29 - L32
Section Letters
DOI http://dx.doi.org/10.1051/0004-6361:200500111



A&A 438, L29-L32 (2005)
DOI: 10.1051/0004-6361:200500111

Letter

A companion to AB Pic at the planet/brown dwarf boundary

G. Chauvin1, A.-M. Lagrange2, B. Zuckerman3, C. Dumas1, D. Mouillet4, I. Song3, J.-L. Beuzit2, P. Lowrance5 and M. S. Bessell6

1  European Southern Observatory, Casilla 19001, Santiago 19, Chile
    e-mail: gchauvin@eso.org
2  Laboratoire d'Astrophysique, Observatoire de Grenoble, 414 rue de la piscine, Saint-Martin-d'Hères, France
3  Department of Physics & Astronomy and Center for Astrobiology, University of California, Los Angeles, Box 951562, CA 90095, USA
4  Laboratoire d'Astrophysique, Observatoire Midi-Pyrénées, Tarbes, France
5  Spitzer Science Center, Infrared Processing and Analysis Center, MS 220-6, Pasadena, CA 91125, USA
6  Research School of astronomy and Astrophysics Institue of Advance Studies, Australian National University, Cotter Road, Weston Creek, Canberra, ACT 2611, Australia

(Received 24 March 2005 / Accepted 19 April 2005 )

Abstract
We report deep imaging observations of the young, nearby star AB Pic, a member of the large Tucana-Horologium association. We have detected a faint, red source 5.5'' South of the star with JHK colors compatible with that of a young substellar L dwarf. Follow-up observations at two additional epochs confirm, with a confidence level of 4.7$\sigma$, that the faint red object is a companion to AB Pic rather than it being a stationary background object. A low resolution K-band spectrum indicates an early-L spectral type for the companion. Finally, evolutionary model predictions based on the JHK photometry of AB Pic b indicate a mass of 13 to 14  $M_{{\rm Jup}}$ if its age is ~30 Myr. Is AB Pic b a massive planet or a minimum mass brown dwarf?

SIMBAD Objects



© ESO 2005


What is OpenURL?

The OpenURL standard is a protocol for transmission of metadata describing the resource that you wish to access. An OpenURL link contains article metadata and directs it to the OpenURL server of your choice. The OpenURL server can provide access to the resource and also offer complementary services (specific search engine, export of references...). The OpenURL link can be generated by different means.
  • If your librarian has set up your subscription with an OpenURL resolver, OpenURL links appear automatically on the abstract pages.
  • You can define your own OpenURL resolver with your EDPS Account. In this case your choice will be given priority over that of your library.
  • You can use an add-on for your browser (Firefox or I.E.) to display OpenURL links on a page (see http://www.openly.com/openurlref/). You should disable this module if you wish to use the OpenURL server that you or your library have defined.