The First Direct Distance and Luminosity Determination for a Self-Luminous Giant Exoplanet: The Trigonometric Parallax to 2MASS1207334-393243Ab
Aug, 2007Citations per year
Abstract: (arXiv)
We present the first trigonometric parallax and distance for a young planetary mass object. A likely TW Hya cluster member, 2MASS 1207Ab is an M8 brown dwarf with a mid to late L type planetary mass companion (Chauvin et al. 2004, Mohanty et al. 2007). Recent observations of spectral variability have uncovered clear signs of disk accretion and outflow, constraining the age of the system to <10 Myr. Because of its late spectral type and the clearly youthful nature of the system, 2MASS 1207b is definitely a planetary mass object. We have measured the first accurate distance (hence luminosity) for a self-luminous planetary mass object. Our parallax measurements are accurate to <2 mas (1sigma) for 2MASS 1207Ab. With 11 total epochs of data taken in 2006 and 2007, we determine a distance of 63+-7.5 pc (15.8^{+2.1}_{-1.6} mas) to 2MASS 1207Ab and a luminosity of 8-23x10^-6 Lsun for 2MASS 1207b. Hence 2MASS 1207Ab is a clear member of the TW Hya cluster in terms of its distance, proper motions, and youthful nature.References(18)
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