Confirmation and Characterization of the Protoplanet HD 100546 b—Direct Evidence for Gas Giant Planet Formation at 50 AU
Abstract
We present the first multi-wavelength, high-contrast imaging study confirming the protoplanet embedded in the disk around the Herbig Ae/Be star HD 100546. The object is detected at L‧ (∼ 3.8 μ {{m}}) and M‧ (∼ 4.8 μ {{m}}), but not at Ks (∼ 2.1 μ {{m}}), and the emission consists of a point source component surrounded by spatially resolved emission. For the point source component we derive apparent magnitudes of L\prime =13.92+/- 0.10 mag, M\prime =13.33+/- 0.16 mag, and {K}s\gt 15.43+/- 0.06 mag (3σ limit), and a separation and position angle of {(0.457+/- 0.014)}\prime\prime and {(8.4+/- 1.4)}^\circ , and {(0.472+/- 0.014)}\prime\prime and {(9.2+/- 1.4)}^\circ in L‧ and M‧, respectively. We demonstrate that the object is co-moving with HD 100546 and can reject any (sub-)stellar fore-/background object. Fitting a single-temperature blackbody to the observed fluxes of the point source component yields an effective temperature of {T}{eff}={932}-202+193 K and a radius for the emitting area of R={6.9}-2.9+2.7 {R}{Jupiter}. The best-fit luminosity is L=({2.3}-0.4+0.6)\cdot {10}-4 {L}⊙ . We quantitatively compare our findings with predictions from evolutionary and atmospheric models for young, gas giant planets, discuss the possible existence of a warm, circumplanetary disk, and note that the deprojected physical separation from the host star of (53+/- 2) AU poses a challenge to standard planet formation theories. Considering the suspected existence of an additional planet orbiting at ∼13-14 AU, HD 100546 appears to be an unprecedented laboratory to study the formation of multiple gas giant planets empirically.
- Publication:
-
The Astrophysical Journal
- Pub Date:
- July 2015
- DOI:
- 10.1088/0004-637X/807/1/64
- arXiv:
- arXiv:1412.5173
- Bibcode:
- 2015ApJ...807...64Q
- Keywords:
-
- planet–disk interactions;
- planets and satellites: detection;
- planets and satellites: formation;
- planets and satellites: gaseous planets;
- protoplanetary disks;
- stars: pre-main sequence;
- Astrophysics - Solar and Stellar Astrophysics;
- Astrophysics - Earth and Planetary Astrophysics
- E-Print:
- Accepted for publication in ApJ