We report the discovery of a low-mass stellar companion around the young Herbig Be star MWC 297. We performed multi-epoch high-contrast imaging in the near-infrared with the Very Large Telescope (VLT)/Spectro-Polarimetric High-contrast Exoplanet REsearch (SPHERE) instrument. The companion is found at a projected separation of 244.7 ± 13.2 au and a position angle of 176.4 ± 0.1 deg. The large separation supports formation via gravitational instability. From the spectrum, we estimate a mass of 0.1-0.5 M o˙, the range conveying uncertainties in the extinction of the companion and in evolutionary models at young ages. The orbit coincides with a gap in the dust disk inferred from the spectral energy distribution. The young age (≲1 Myr) and mass ratio with the central star (∼0.01) makes the companion comparable to PDS 70 b, suggesting a relation between formation scenarios and disk dynamics.
Discovery of a Low-mass Companion Embedded in the Disk of the Young Massive Star MWC 297 with VLT/SPHERE / M.G. Ubeira-Gabellini, V. Christiaens, G. Lodato, M.V.D. Ancker, D. Fedele, C.F. Manara, D.J. Price. - In: THE ASTROPHYSICAL JOURNAL LETTERS. - ISSN 2041-8205. - 890:1(2020 Feb 10), pp. L8.1-L8.6. [10.3847/2041-8213/ab7019]
Discovery of a Low-mass Companion Embedded in the Disk of the Young Massive Star MWC 297 with VLT/SPHERE
M.G. Ubeira-Gabellini
Primo
;G. Lodato;
2020
Abstract
We report the discovery of a low-mass stellar companion around the young Herbig Be star MWC 297. We performed multi-epoch high-contrast imaging in the near-infrared with the Very Large Telescope (VLT)/Spectro-Polarimetric High-contrast Exoplanet REsearch (SPHERE) instrument. The companion is found at a projected separation of 244.7 ± 13.2 au and a position angle of 176.4 ± 0.1 deg. The large separation supports formation via gravitational instability. From the spectrum, we estimate a mass of 0.1-0.5 M o˙, the range conveying uncertainties in the extinction of the companion and in evolutionary models at young ages. The orbit coincides with a gap in the dust disk inferred from the spectral energy distribution. The young age (≲1 Myr) and mass ratio with the central star (∼0.01) makes the companion comparable to PDS 70 b, suggesting a relation between formation scenarios and disk dynamics.
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