Evidence that the directly imaged planet HD 131399 Ab Is a Background Star

Eric L. Nielsen; Robert J.De Rosa; Julien Rameau; Jason J. Wang; Thomas M. Esposito; Maxwell A. Millar-Blanchaer; Christian Marois; Arthur Vigan; S. Mark Ammons; Etienne Artigau; Vanessa P. Bailey; Sarah Blunt; Joanna Bulger; Jeffrey Chilcote; Tara Cotten; René Doyon; Gaspard Duchêne; Daniel Fabrycky; Michael P. Fitzgerald; Katherine B. Follette; Benjamin L. Gerard; Stephen J. Goodsell; James R. Graham; Alexandra Z. Greenbaum; Pascale Hibon; Sasha Hinkley; Li Wei Hung; Patrick Ingraham; Rebecca Jensen-Clem; Paul Kalas; Quinn Konopacky; James E. Larkin; Bruce MacIntosh; Jérôme Maire; Franck Marchis; Stanimir Metchev; Katie M. Morzinski; Ruth A. Murray-Clay; Rebecca Oppenheimer; David Palmer; Jennifer Patience; Marshall Perrin; Lisa Poyneer; Laurent Pueyo; Roman R. Rafikov; Abhijith Rajan; Fredrik T. Rantakyrö; Jean Baptiste Ruffio; Dmitry Savransky; Adam C. Schneider; Anand Sivaramakrishnan; Inseok Song; Remi Soummer; Sandrine Thomas; J. Kent Wallace; Kimberly Ward-Duong; Sloane Wiktorowicz; Schuyler Wolff

doi:10.3847/1538-3881/aa8a69

Evidence that the directly imaged planet HD 131399 Ab Is a Background Star

Eric L. Nielsen, Robert J.De Rosa, Julien Rameau, Jason J. Wang, Thomas M. Esposito, Maxwell A. Millar-Blanchaer, Christian Marois, Arthur Vigan, S. Mark Ammons, Etienne Artigau, Vanessa P. Bailey, Sarah Blunt, Joanna Bulger, Jeffrey Chilcote, Tara Cotten, René Doyon, Gaspard Duchêne, Daniel Fabrycky, Michael P. Fitzgerald, Katherine B. FolletteBenjamin L. Gerard, Stephen J. Goodsell, James R. Graham, Alexandra Z. Greenbaum, Pascale Hibon, Sasha Hinkley, Li Wei Hung, Patrick Ingraham, Rebecca Jensen-Clem, Paul Kalas, Quinn Konopacky, James E. Larkin, Bruce MacIntosh, Jérôme Maire, Franck Marchis, Stanimir Metchev, Katie M. Morzinski, Ruth A. Murray-Clay, Rebecca Oppenheimer, David Palmer, Jennifer Patience, Marshall Perrin, Lisa Poyneer, Laurent Pueyo, Roman R. Rafikov, Abhijith Rajan, Fredrik T. Rantakyrö, Jean Baptiste Ruffio, Dmitry Savransky, Adam C. Schneider, Anand Sivaramakrishnan, Inseok Song, Remi Soummer, Sandrine Thomas, J. Kent Wallace, Kimberly Ward-Duong, Sloane Wiktorowicz, Schuyler Wolff

Earth and Space Exploration, School of (SESE)

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

31 Scopus citations

Abstract

We present evidence that the recently discovered, directly imaged planet HD 131399 Ab is a background star with nonzero proper motion. From new JHK1L′ photometry and spectroscopy obtained with the Gemini Planet Imager, VLT/SPHERE, and Keck/NIRC2, and a reanalysis of the discovery data obtained with VLT/SPHERE, we derive colors, spectra, and astrometry for HD 131399 Ab. The broader wavelength coverage and higher data quality allow us to reinvestigate its status. Its near-infrared spectral energy distribution excludes spectral types later than L0 and is consistent with a K or M dwarf, which are the most likely candidates for a background object in this direction at the apparent magnitude observed. If it were a physically associated object, the projected velocity of HD 131399 Ab would exceed escape velocity given the mass and distance to HD 131399 A. We show that HD 131399 Ab is also not following the expected track for a stationary background star at infinite distance. Solving for the proper motion and parallax required to explain the relative motion of HD 131399 Ab, we find a proper motion of 12.3 mas yr^-1. When compared to predicted background objects drawn from a galactic model, we find this proper motion to be high but consistent with the top 4% fastest-moving background stars. From our analysis, we conclude that HD 131399 Ab is a background K or M dwarf.

Original language	English (US)
Article number	218
Journal	Astronomical Journal
Volume	154
Issue number	6
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-3881/aa8a69
State	Published - Dec 2017

Keywords

adaptive optics - planets and satellites
astrometry - instrumentation
detection - stars
image processing - techniques
individual (HD 131399) - techniques
spectroscopic

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Astronomy and Astrophysics
Space and Planetary Science

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10.3847/1538-3881/aa8a69

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Nielsen, E. L., Rosa, R. J. D., Rameau, J., Wang, J. J., Esposito, T. M., Millar-Blanchaer, M. A., Marois, C., Vigan, A., Ammons, S. M., Artigau, E., Bailey, V. P., Blunt, S., Bulger, J., Chilcote, J., Cotten, T., Doyon, R., Duchêne, G., Fabrycky, D., Fitzgerald, M. P., ... Wolff, S. (2017). Evidence that the directly imaged planet HD 131399 Ab Is a Background Star. Astronomical Journal, 154(6), Article 218. https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-3881/aa8a69

Nielsen, EL, Rosa, RJD, Rameau, J, Wang, JJ, Esposito, TM, Millar-Blanchaer, MA, Marois, C, Vigan, A, Ammons, SM, Artigau, E, Bailey, VP, Blunt, S, Bulger, J, Chilcote, J, Cotten, T, Doyon, R, Duchêne, G, Fabrycky, D, Fitzgerald, MP, Follette, KB, Gerard, BL, Goodsell, SJ, Graham, JR, Greenbaum, AZ, Hibon, P, Hinkley, S, Hung, LW, Ingraham, P, Jensen-Clem, R, Kalas, P, Konopacky, Q, Larkin, JE, MacIntosh, B, Maire, J, Marchis, F, Metchev, S, Morzinski, KM, Murray-Clay, RA, Oppenheimer, R, Palmer, D, Patience, J, Perrin, M, Poyneer, L, Pueyo, L, Rafikov, RR, Rajan, A, Rantakyrö, FT, Ruffio, JB, Savransky, D, Schneider, AC, Sivaramakrishnan, A, Song, I, Soummer, R, Thomas, S, Wallace, JK, Ward-Duong, K, Wiktorowicz, S & Wolff, S 2017, 'Evidence that the directly imaged planet HD 131399 Ab Is a Background Star', Astronomical Journal, vol. 154, no. 6, 218. https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-3881/aa8a69

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title = "Evidence that the directly imaged planet HD 131399 Ab Is a Background Star",

abstract = "We present evidence that the recently discovered, directly imaged planet HD 131399 Ab is a background star with nonzero proper motion. From new JHK1L′ photometry and spectroscopy obtained with the Gemini Planet Imager, VLT/SPHERE, and Keck/NIRC2, and a reanalysis of the discovery data obtained with VLT/SPHERE, we derive colors, spectra, and astrometry for HD 131399 Ab. The broader wavelength coverage and higher data quality allow us to reinvestigate its status. Its near-infrared spectral energy distribution excludes spectral types later than L0 and is consistent with a K or M dwarf, which are the most likely candidates for a background object in this direction at the apparent magnitude observed. If it were a physically associated object, the projected velocity of HD 131399 Ab would exceed escape velocity given the mass and distance to HD 131399 A. We show that HD 131399 Ab is also not following the expected track for a stationary background star at infinite distance. Solving for the proper motion and parallax required to explain the relative motion of HD 131399 Ab, we find a proper motion of 12.3 mas yr-1. When compared to predicted background objects drawn from a galactic model, we find this proper motion to be high but consistent with the top 4% fastest-moving background stars. From our analysis, we conclude that HD 131399 Ab is a background K or M dwarf.",

keywords = "adaptive optics - planets and satellites, astrometry - instrumentation, detection - stars, image processing - techniques, individual (HD 131399) - techniques, spectroscopic",

author = "Nielsen, {Eric L.} and Rosa, {Robert J.De} and Julien Rameau and Wang, {Jason J.} and Esposito, {Thomas M.} and Millar-Blanchaer, {Maxwell A.} and Christian Marois and Arthur Vigan and Ammons, {S. Mark} and Etienne Artigau and Bailey, {Vanessa P.} and Sarah Blunt and Joanna Bulger and Jeffrey Chilcote and Tara Cotten and Ren{\'e} Doyon and Gaspard Duch{\^e}ne and Daniel Fabrycky and Fitzgerald, {Michael P.} and Follette, {Katherine B.} and Gerard, {Benjamin L.} and Goodsell, {Stephen J.} and Graham, {James R.} and Greenbaum, {Alexandra Z.} and Pascale Hibon and Sasha Hinkley and Hung, {Li Wei} and Patrick Ingraham and Rebecca Jensen-Clem and Paul Kalas and Quinn Konopacky and Larkin, {James E.} and Bruce MacIntosh and J{\'e}r{\^o}me Maire and Franck Marchis and Stanimir Metchev and Morzinski, {Katie M.} and Murray-Clay, {Ruth A.} and Rebecca Oppenheimer and David Palmer and Jennifer Patience and Marshall Perrin and Lisa Poyneer and Laurent Pueyo and Rafikov, {Roman R.} and Abhijith Rajan and Rantakyr{\"o}, {Fredrik T.} and Ruffio, {Jean Baptiste} and Dmitry Savransky and Schneider, {Adam C.} and Anand Sivaramakrishnan and Inseok Song and Remi Soummer and Sandrine Thomas and Wallace, {J. Kent} and Kimberly Ward-Duong and Sloane Wiktorowicz and Schuyler Wolff",

year = "2017",

month = dec,

doi = "10.3847/1538-3881/aa8a69",

language = "English (US)",

volume = "154",

journal = "Astronomical Journal",

issn = "0004-6256",

publisher = "IOP Publishing Ltd.",

number = "6",

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T1 - Evidence that the directly imaged planet HD 131399 Ab Is a Background Star

AU - Nielsen, Eric L.

AU - Rosa, Robert J.De

AU - Rameau, Julien

AU - Wang, Jason J.

AU - Esposito, Thomas M.

AU - Millar-Blanchaer, Maxwell A.

AU - Marois, Christian

AU - Vigan, Arthur

AU - Ammons, S. Mark

AU - Artigau, Etienne

AU - Bailey, Vanessa P.

AU - Blunt, Sarah

AU - Bulger, Joanna

AU - Chilcote, Jeffrey

AU - Cotten, Tara

AU - Doyon, René

AU - Duchêne, Gaspard

AU - Fabrycky, Daniel

AU - Fitzgerald, Michael P.

AU - Follette, Katherine B.

AU - Gerard, Benjamin L.

AU - Goodsell, Stephen J.

AU - Graham, James R.

AU - Greenbaum, Alexandra Z.

AU - Hibon, Pascale

AU - Hinkley, Sasha

AU - Hung, Li Wei

AU - Ingraham, Patrick

AU - Jensen-Clem, Rebecca

AU - Kalas, Paul

AU - Konopacky, Quinn

AU - Larkin, James E.

AU - MacIntosh, Bruce

AU - Maire, Jérôme

AU - Marchis, Franck

AU - Metchev, Stanimir

AU - Morzinski, Katie M.

AU - Murray-Clay, Ruth A.

AU - Oppenheimer, Rebecca

AU - Palmer, David

AU - Patience, Jennifer

AU - Perrin, Marshall

AU - Poyneer, Lisa

AU - Pueyo, Laurent

AU - Rafikov, Roman R.

AU - Rajan, Abhijith

AU - Rantakyrö, Fredrik T.

AU - Ruffio, Jean Baptiste

AU - Savransky, Dmitry

AU - Schneider, Adam C.

AU - Sivaramakrishnan, Anand

AU - Song, Inseok

AU - Soummer, Remi

AU - Thomas, Sandrine

AU - Wallace, J. Kent

AU - Ward-Duong, Kimberly

AU - Wiktorowicz, Sloane

AU - Wolff, Schuyler

PY - 2017/12

Y1 - 2017/12

N2 - We present evidence that the recently discovered, directly imaged planet HD 131399 Ab is a background star with nonzero proper motion. From new JHK1L′ photometry and spectroscopy obtained with the Gemini Planet Imager, VLT/SPHERE, and Keck/NIRC2, and a reanalysis of the discovery data obtained with VLT/SPHERE, we derive colors, spectra, and astrometry for HD 131399 Ab. The broader wavelength coverage and higher data quality allow us to reinvestigate its status. Its near-infrared spectral energy distribution excludes spectral types later than L0 and is consistent with a K or M dwarf, which are the most likely candidates for a background object in this direction at the apparent magnitude observed. If it were a physically associated object, the projected velocity of HD 131399 Ab would exceed escape velocity given the mass and distance to HD 131399 A. We show that HD 131399 Ab is also not following the expected track for a stationary background star at infinite distance. Solving for the proper motion and parallax required to explain the relative motion of HD 131399 Ab, we find a proper motion of 12.3 mas yr-1. When compared to predicted background objects drawn from a galactic model, we find this proper motion to be high but consistent with the top 4% fastest-moving background stars. From our analysis, we conclude that HD 131399 Ab is a background K or M dwarf.

AB - We present evidence that the recently discovered, directly imaged planet HD 131399 Ab is a background star with nonzero proper motion. From new JHK1L′ photometry and spectroscopy obtained with the Gemini Planet Imager, VLT/SPHERE, and Keck/NIRC2, and a reanalysis of the discovery data obtained with VLT/SPHERE, we derive colors, spectra, and astrometry for HD 131399 Ab. The broader wavelength coverage and higher data quality allow us to reinvestigate its status. Its near-infrared spectral energy distribution excludes spectral types later than L0 and is consistent with a K or M dwarf, which are the most likely candidates for a background object in this direction at the apparent magnitude observed. If it were a physically associated object, the projected velocity of HD 131399 Ab would exceed escape velocity given the mass and distance to HD 131399 A. We show that HD 131399 Ab is also not following the expected track for a stationary background star at infinite distance. Solving for the proper motion and parallax required to explain the relative motion of HD 131399 Ab, we find a proper motion of 12.3 mas yr-1. When compared to predicted background objects drawn from a galactic model, we find this proper motion to be high but consistent with the top 4% fastest-moving background stars. From our analysis, we conclude that HD 131399 Ab is a background K or M dwarf.

KW - adaptive optics - planets and satellites

KW - astrometry - instrumentation

KW - detection - stars

KW - image processing - techniques

KW - individual (HD 131399) - techniques

KW - spectroscopic

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UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=85039421021&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.3847/1538-3881/aa8a69

DO - 10.3847/1538-3881/aa8a69

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SN - 0004-6256

VL - 154

JO - Astronomical Journal

JF - Astronomical Journal

IS - 6

M1 - 218

ER -

Evidence that the directly imaged planet HD 131399 Ab Is a Background Star

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