Discovery of a Substellar Companion to the K2 III Giant ι Draconis

We report precise radial velocity measurements of the K giant ι Dra (HD 137759, HR 5744, HIP 75458), carried out at Lick Observatory, which reveal the presence of a substellar companion orbiting the primary star. A Keplerian fit to the data yields an orbital period of about 536 days and an eccentricity of 0.70. Assuming a mass of 1.05 M_solar for ι Dra, the mass function implies a minimum companion mass m₂sini of 8.9 M_J, making it a planet candidate. The corresponding semimajor axis is 1.3 AU. The nondetection of the orbital motion by Hipparcos allows us to place an upper limit of 45 M_J on the companion mass, establishing the substellar nature of the object. We estimate that transits in this system could occur already for inclinations as low as 81.5d, as a result of the large diameter of the giant star. The companion to ι Dra is the first brown dwarf or planet found to orbit a giant rather than a main-sequence star. Based on observations obtained at Lick Observatory, which is operated by the University of California.