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

Authors :: Chauvin, G.
Lagrange, A.-M.
Zuckerman, B.
Dumas, C.
Mouillet, D.
Song, I.
Beuzit, J.-L.
Lowrance, P.
Bessell, M. S.
Chauvin, G.
Lagrange, A.-M.
Zuckerman, B.
Dumas, C.
Mouillet, D.
Song, I.
Beuzit, J.-L.
Lowrance, P.
Bessell, M. S.
Source :: Astronomy and Astrophysics; August 2005, Vol. 438 Issue: 3 pL29-L32, 4p
Publication Year :: 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 JHKcolors compatible with that of a young substellar L dwarf. Follow-up observations at two additional epochs confirm, with a confidence level of 4.7σ, 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 JHKphotometry 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?