Published March 1, 2017 | Version v1
Journal article

EPIC 219388192b—An Inhabitant of the Brown Dwarf Desert in the Ruprecht 147 Open Cluster

  • 1. Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias (IAC), E-38205 La Laguna, Tenerife (Spain)
  • 2. Dipartimento di Fisica, Universitá di Torino, Via P. Giuria 1, I-10125, Torino (Italy)
  • 3. Department of Physics and Kavli Institute for Astrophysics and Space Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139 (United States)
  • 4. INAF-Osservatorio Astrofisico di Catania, Via S. Sofia, 78-95123 Catania (Italy)
  • 5. Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Tokyo Institute of Technology, 2-12-1 Ookayama, Meguro-ku, Tokyo 152-8551 (Japan)
  • 6. Okayama Astrophysical Observatory, National Astronomical Observatory of Japan, Asakuchi, Okayama 719-0232 (Japan)
  • 7. Stellar Astrophysics Centre, Department of Physics and Astronomy, Aarhus University, Ny Munkegade 120, DK-8000 Aarhus C (Denmark)
  • 8. Department of Astronomy and McDonald Observatory, University of Texas at Austin, 2515 Speedway, Stop C1400, Austin, TX 78712 (United States)
  • 9. INFN, Section of Pisa, Largo Bruno Pontecorvo 3, I-56127, Pisa (Italy)
  • 10. Thüringer Landessternwarte Tautenburg, Sternwarte 5, D-07778 Tautenburg (Germany)
  • 11. Princeton University, Department of Astrophysical Sciences, 4 Ivy Lane, Princeton, NJ 08544 (United States)

Description

We report the discovery of EPIC 219388192b, a transiting brown dwarf in a 5.3 day orbit around a member star of Ruprecht 147, the oldest nearby open cluster association, which was photometrically monitored by K2 during its Campaign 7. We combine the K2 time-series data with ground-based adaptive optics imaging and high-resolution spectroscopy to rule out false positive scenarios and determine the main parameters of the system. EPIC 219388192b has a radius of R b = 0.937 ± 0.032 R Jup and mass of M b = 36.84 ± 0.97 M Jup, yielding a mean density of 59.6 ± 7.6 g c m 3 . The host star is nearly a solar twin with mass M = 1.01 ± 0.04 M , radius R = 1.01 ± 0.03 R , effective temperature T eff = 5850 ±  85 K, and iron abundance [Fe/H] = 0.03 ± 0.08 dex. Its age, spectroscopic distance, and reddening are consistent with those of Ruprecht 147, corroborating its cluster membership. EPIC 219388192b is the first mature brown dwarf with precise determinations of mass, radius, and age, and serves as benchmark for evolutionary models in the substellar regime.

Availability note (English)

Available from http://dx.doi.org/10.3847/1538-3881/aa5cb6

Additional details

Identifiers

Publishing Information

Journal Title
Astronomical Journal (New York, N.Y. Online)
Journal Volume
153
Journal Issue
3
Journal Page Range
[11 p.]
ISSN
1538-3881

INIS

Country of Publication
United States
Country of Input or Organization
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)
INIS RN
51024890
Subject category
S79: ASTROPHYSICS, COSMOLOGY AND ASTRONOMY;
Descriptors DEI
ABUNDANCE; BENCHMARKS; DENSITY; DISTANCE; DWARF STARS; IRON; MASS; OPTICS; ORBITS; RADIAL VELOCITY; RESOLUTION
Descriptors DEC
ELEMENTS; METALS; PHYSICAL PROPERTIES; STARS; TRANSITION ELEMENTS; VELOCITY