Friday, July 1, 2016

2MASS J11193254-1137466 is a 4.3 to 7.6 Jupiter Mass Free Floating Planet or L7 Brown Dwarf

The Nearest Isolated Member of the TW Hydrae Association is a Giant Planet Analog

Authors:

Kellogg et al

Abstract:

In a recent search for unusually red L and T dwarfs, we identified 2MASS J11193254-1137466 as a likely young L7 dwarf and potential member of the TW Hydrae association. We present spectra that confirm the youth of this object. We also measure a radial velocity of 8.5 +/- 3.3 km/s that, together with the sky position, proper motion and photometric distance, results in a 92% probability of membership in the TW Hydrae association, with a calibrated field contamination probability of 0.0005% using the BANYAN II tool. Using the age of TW Hydrae and the luminosity of 2MASS J11193254-1137466, we estimate its mass to be 4.3--7.6 MJup. It is the lowest-mass and nearest isolated member of TW Hydrae at a kinematic distance of 28.9 +/- 3.6 pc, and the second-brightest isolated less than 10 MJup object discovered to date.

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