LP 714-37: A Wide Pair of Ultracool Dwarfs Actually Is a Triple

LP 714-37 was identified by Phan-Bao et al. as one of the very few wide pairs of very low mass (VLM) stars known to date, with a separation of 33 AU. Here we present adaptive optics imaging that resolves the secondary of the wide pair into a tighter binary, with a projected angular separation of 0.36", or 7 AU. The estimated spectral types of LP 714-37B and LP 714-37C are M8.0 and M8.5, respectively. We discuss the implications of this finding for brown dwarf formation scenarios.

Based on observations made at the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope, operated by the National Research Council of Canada, the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique de France, and the University of Hawaii.