The Low-mass Astrometric Binary LSR 1610-0040
Abstract
Even though it was discovered more than a decade ago, LSR 1610-0040 remains an enigma. This object has a peculiar spectrum that exhibits some features typically found in L subdwarfs, and others common in the spectra of more massive M dwarf stars. It is also a binary system with a known astrometric orbital solution. Given the available data, it remains a challenge to reconcile the observed properties of the combined light of LSR 1610-0040AB with current theoretical models of low-mass stars and brown dwarfs. We present the results of a joint fit to both astrometric and radial velocity measurements of this unresolved, low-mass binary. We find that the photocentric orbit has a period P=633.0+/- 1.7 days, somewhat longer than previous results, eccentricity of e=0.42+/- 0.03, and we estimate that the semimajor axis of the orbit of the primary is {a}1≈ 0.32 {{AU}}, consistent with previous results. While a complete characterization of the system is limited by our small number of radial velocity measurements, we establish a likely primary mass range of 0.09-0.10 {M}⊙ from photometric and color-magnitude data. For a primary mass in this range, the secondary is constrained to be 0.06-0.075 {M}⊙ , making a negligible contribution to the total I-band luminosity. This effectively rules out the possibility of the secondary being a compact object such as an old, low-mass white dwarf. Based on our analysis, we predict a likely angular separation at apoapsis comparable to the resolution limits of current high-resolution imaging systems. Measuring the angular separation of the A and B components would finally enable a full, unambiguous solution for the masses of the components of this system.
- Publication:
-
The Astronomical Journal
- Pub Date:
- March 2016
- DOI:
- 10.3847/0004-6256/151/3/57
- arXiv:
- arXiv:1511.02234
- Bibcode:
- 2016AJ....151...57K
- Keywords:
-
- binaries: general;
- brown dwarfs;
- methods: data analysis;
- Astrophysics - Solar and Stellar Astrophysics
- E-Print:
- 31 Pages, 13 Figures, 6 Tables, Accepted to The Astronomical Journal