Bibcode
Cañas, C. I.; Bender, Chad F.; Mahadevan, Suvrath; Fleming, Scott W.; Beatty, Thomas G.; Covey, Kevin R.; De Lee, Nathan; Hearty, Fred R.; García-Hernández, D. A.; Majewski, Steven R.; Schneider, Donald P.; Stassun, Keivan G.; Wilson, Robert F.
Bibliographical reference
The Astrophysical Journal Letters, Volume 861, Issue 1, article id. L4, 7 pp. (2018).
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7
2018
Citations
16
Refereed citations
16
Description
Using spectroscopic radial velocities with the Apache Point Observatory
Galaxy Evolution Experiment (APOGEE) instrument and Gaia distance
estimates, we demonstrate that Kepler-503b, currently considered a
validated Kepler planet, is in fact a brown-dwarf/low-mass star in a
nearly circular 7.2-day orbit around a subgiant star. Using a mass
estimate for the primary star derived from stellar models, we derive a
companion mass and radius of 0.075 ± 0.003 M ⊙
(78.6 ± 3.1 M Jup) and
{0.099}-0.004+0.006 {R}ȯ
({0.96}-0.04+0.06 R Jup), respectively.
Assuming that the system is coeval, the evolutionary state of the
primary indicates the age is ∼6.7 Gyr. Kepler-503b sits right at the
hydrogen-burning mass limit, straddling the boundary between brown
dwarfs and very low-mass stars. More precise radial velocities and
secondary eclipse spectroscopy with the James Webb Space Telescope
(JWST) will provide improved measurements of the physical parameters and
age of this important system to better constrain and understand the
physics of these objects and their spectra. This system emphasizes the
value of radial velocity observations to distinguish a genuine planet
from astrophysical false positives, and is the first result from the
Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS)-IV monitoring of Kepler planet
candidates with the multi-object APOGEE instrument.
Related projects
Nucleosynthesis and molecular processes in the late stages of Stellar Evolution
Low- to intermediate-mass (M < 8 solar masses, Ms) stars represent the majority of stars in the Cosmos. They finish their lives on the Asymptotic Giant Branch (AGB) - just before they form planetary nebulae (PNe) - where they experience complex nucleosynthetic and molecular processes. AGB stars are important contributors to the enrichment of the
Domingo Aníbal
García Hernández