Published November 1, 2015 | Version v1
Journal article

Dynamical masses of young m dwarfs: masses and orbital parameters of GJ 3305 AB, the wide binary companion to the imaged exoplanet host 51 Eri

  • 1. Cahill Center for Astronomy and Astrophysics, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125 (United States)
  • 2. School of Earth and Space Exploration, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85287 (United States)
  • 3. Department of Physics, Southern Connecticut State University, 501 Crescent Street, New Haven, CT 06515 (United States)
  • 4. Institute for Astronomy, University of Hawaii, 2680 Woodlawn Drive, Honolulu, HI 96822 (United States)
  • 5. Department of Astronomy, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX 78712 (United States)
  • 6. Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, Cambridge, MA 02138 (United States)

Description

We combine new high resolution imaging and spectroscopy from Keck/NIRC2, Discovery Channel Telescope/DSSI, and Keck/HIRES with published astrometry and radial velocities to measure individual masses and orbital elements of the GJ 3305 AB system, a young (∼20 Myr) M+M binary (unresolved spectral type M0) member of the β Pictoris moving group comoving with the imaged exoplanet host 51 Eri. We measure a total system mass of 1.11 ± 0.04 M , a period of 29.03 ± 0.50 year, a semimajor axis of 9.78 ± 0.14 AU, and an eccentricity of 0.19 ± 0.02. The primary component has a dynamical mass of 0.67 ± 0.05 M and the secondary has a mass of 0.44 ± 0.05 M . The recently updated BHAC15 models are consistent with the masses of both stars to within 1.5 σ . Given the observed masses the models predict an age of the GJ 3305 AB system of 37 ± 9 Myr. Based on the observed system architecture and our dynamical mass measurement, it is unlikely that the orbit of 51 Eri b has been significantly altered by the Kozai–Lidov mechanism.

Availability note (English)

Available from http://dx.doi.org/10.1088/2041-8205/813/1/L11

Additional details

Identifiers

Publishing Information

Journal Title
Astrophysical Journal Letters
Journal Volume
813
Journal Issue
1
Journal Page Range
[7 p.]
ISSN
2041-8205

INIS

Country of Publication
United States
Country of Input or Organization
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)
INIS RN
51030602
Subject category
S79: ASTROPHYSICS, COSMOLOGY AND ASTRONOMY;
Descriptors DEI
BINARY STARS; DWARF STARS; MASS; ORBITS; RADIAL VELOCITY; SPECTROSCOPY; TELESCOPES
Descriptors DEC
STARS; VELOCITY