HD 169142 has a Brown Dwarf Candidate in its Protoplanetary Disk

An Enigmatic Pointlike Feature within the HD 169142 Transitional Disk

Authors:

Miller et al

Abstract:

We report the detection of a faint pointlike feature possibly related to ongoing planet-formation in the disk of the transition disk star HD 169142. The pointlike feature has a Δmag(L)∼6.4, at a separation of ∼0.11" and PA∼0∘. Given its lack of an H or KS counterpart despite its relative brightness, this candidate cannot be explained by purely photospheric emission and must be a disk feature heated by an as yet unknown source. Its extremely red colors make it highly unlikely to be a background object, but future multi-wavelength followup is necessary for confirmation and characterization of this feature.