Ophiuchus 1622-2405: Not a Planetary-Mass Binary (original) (raw)

ADS

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• Allers, K. N. ;
• Jaffe, D. T. ;
• Cushing, M. C. ;
• Williams, K. A. ;
• Slesnick, C. L. ;
• Vacca, W. D.

Abstract

We present an analysis of the mass and age of the young low-mass binary Oph 1622-2405. Using resolved optical spectroscopy of the binary, we measure spectral types of M7.25+/-0.25 and M8.75+/-0.25 for the A and B components, respectively. We show that our spectra are inconsistent with the spectral types of M9 and M9.5-L0 from Jayawardhana & Ivanov and M9+/-0.5 and M9.5+/-0.5 from Close and coworkers. Based on our spectral types and the theoretical evolutionary models of Chabrier and Baraffe, we estimate masses of ~0.055 and ~0.019 Msolar for Oph 1622-2405A and B, which are significantly higher than the values of 0.013 and 0.007 Msolar derived by Jayawardhana & Ivanov and above the range of masses observed for extrasolar planets (M<~0.015 Msolar). Planet-like mass estimates are further contradicted by our demonstration that Oph 1622-2405A is only slightly later (by 0.5 subclass) than the composite of the young eclipsing binary brown dwarf 2M 0535-0546, whose components have dynamical masses of 0.034 and 0.054 Msolar. To constrain the age of Oph 1622-2405, we compare the strengths of gravity-sensitive absorption lines in optical and near-infrared spectra of the primary to lines in field dwarfs (τ>1 Gyr) and members of Taurus (τ~1 Myr) and Upper Scorpius (τ~5 Myr). The line strengths for Oph 1622-2405A are inconsistent with membership in Ophiuchus (τ<1 Myr) and instead indicate an age similar to that of Upper Sco, which is in agreement with a similar analysis performed by Close and coworkers. We conclude that Oph 1622-2405 is part of an older population in Sco-Cen, perhaps Upper Sco itself.

This paper includes data gathered with the 6.5 m Magellan Telescopes located at Las Campanas Observatory Chile.

Publication:

The Astrophysical Journal

Pub Date:

April 2007

DOI:

10.1086/512539

10.48550/arXiv.astro-ph/0701242

arXiv:

arXiv:astro-ph/0701242

Bibcode:

2007ApJ...659.1629L

Keywords:

• Stars: Binaries: Visual;
• Infrared: Stars;
• Stars: Evolution;
• Stars: Formation;
• Stars: Low-Mass;
• Brown Dwarfs;
• Stars: Pre-Main-Sequence;
• Astrophysics

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