A Confirmed Directly Imaged Planet Orbiting a Nearby Young, Dusty Star

We present new VLT/NaCo infrared (Lp/3.8 micron) high-contrast imaging observations of a nearby, young (13--21 Myr old) star known to be surrounded by a luminous Kuiper belt-like debris disk. Using multiple reduction pipelines, we unambiguously detect a faint companion located interior to the disk at a projected separation of ~55 AU in four separate data sets between 2012 and 2013. The companion’s astrometry is decisively inconsistent with that of a background object. Combining our Lp photometry with sensitive upper limits at shorter wavelengths shows that the companion has red colors characteristic of young jovian planets with an inferred mass of 3--7 Mj, making it potentially the lowest mass planet imaged thus far. This planet will be a benchmark for further physical and orbital characterization of young gas giants.