Astrometric detection of a Neptune-mass candidate planet in the nearest M-dwarf binary system GJ65 with VLTI/GRAVITY
GRAVITY Collaboration, R. Abuter, A. Amorim, M. Benisty, J-P. Berger, H. Bonnet, G. Bourdarot, P. Bourget, W. Brandner, Y. Cl’enet, R. Davies, F. Delplancke-Str"obele, R. Dembet, A. Drescher, A. Eckart, F. Eisenhauer, H. Feuchtgruber, G. Finger, N. M. F"orster-Schreiber, P. Garcia, R. Garcia-Lopez, F. Gao, E. Gendron, R. Genzel, S. Gillessen, M. Hartl, X. Haubois, F. Haussmann, T. Henning, S. Hippler, M. Horrobin, L. Jochum, L. Jocou, A. Kaufer, P. Kervella, S. Lacour, V. Lapeyr`ere, J. B. Le Bouquin, C. Ledoux, P. L’ena, D. Lutz, F. Mang, A. M’erand, N. More, M. Nowak, T. Ott, T. Paumard, K. Perraut, G. Perrin, O. Pfuhl, S. Rabien, D. C. Ribeiro, M. Sadun Bordoni, J. Shangguan, T. Shimizu, J. Stadler, O. Straub, C. Straubmeier, E. Sturm, L. J. Tacconi, K. R. W Tristram, F. Vincent, S. von Fellenberg, F. Widmann, E. Wieprecht, J. Woillez, S. Yazici, G. Zins
arXiv:2404.08746v1 Announce Type: new
Abstract: The detection of low-mass planets orbiting the nearest stars is a central stake of exoplanetary science, as they can be directly characterized much more easily than their distant counterparts. Here, we present the results of our long-term astrometric observations of the nearest binary M-dwarf Gliese 65 AB (GJ65), located at a distance of only 2.67 pc. We monitored the relative astrometry of the two components from 2016 to 2023 with the VLTI/GRAVITY interferometric instrument. We derived highly accurate orbital parameters for the stellar system, along with the dynamical masses of the two red dwarfs. The GRAVITY measurements exhibit a mean accuracy per epoch of 50-60 microarcseconds in 1.5h of observing time using the 1.8m Auxiliary Telescopes. The residuals of the two-body orbital fit enable us to search for the presence of companions orbiting one of the two stars (S-type orbit) through the reflex motion they imprint on the differential A-B astrometry. We detected a Neptune-mass candidate companion with an orbital period of p = 156 +/- 1 d and a mass of m = 36 +/- 7 Mearth. The best-fit orbit is within the dynamical stability region of the stellar pair. It has a low eccentricity, e = 0.1 – 0.3, and the planetary orbit plane has a moderate-to-high inclination of i > 30{deg} with respect to the stellar pair, with further observations required to confirm these values. These observations demonstrate the capability of interferometric astrometry to reach microarcsecond accuracy in the narrow-angle regime for planet detection by reflex motion from the ground. This capability offers new perspectives and potential synergies with Gaia in the pursuit of low-mass exoplanets in the solar neighborhood.arXiv:2404.08746v1 Announce Type: new
Abstract: The detection of low-mass planets orbiting the nearest stars is a central stake of exoplanetary science, as they can be directly characterized much more easily than their distant counterparts. Here, we present the results of our long-term astrometric observations of the nearest binary M-dwarf Gliese 65 AB (GJ65), located at a distance of only 2.67 pc. We monitored the relative astrometry of the two components from 2016 to 2023 with the VLTI/GRAVITY interferometric instrument. We derived highly accurate orbital parameters for the stellar system, along with the dynamical masses of the two red dwarfs. The GRAVITY measurements exhibit a mean accuracy per epoch of 50-60 microarcseconds in 1.5h of observing time using the 1.8m Auxiliary Telescopes. The residuals of the two-body orbital fit enable us to search for the presence of companions orbiting one of the two stars (S-type orbit) through the reflex motion they imprint on the differential A-B astrometry. We detected a Neptune-mass candidate companion with an orbital period of p = 156 +/- 1 d and a mass of m = 36 +/- 7 Mearth. The best-fit orbit is within the dynamical stability region of the stellar pair. It has a low eccentricity, e = 0.1 – 0.3, and the planetary orbit plane has a moderate-to-high inclination of i > 30{deg} with respect to the stellar pair, with further observations required to confirm these values. These observations demonstrate the capability of interferometric astrometry to reach microarcsecond accuracy in the narrow-angle regime for planet detection by reflex motion from the ground. This capability offers new perspectives and potential synergies with Gaia in the pursuit of low-mass exoplanets in the solar neighborhood.

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