Dynamical Mass of the M8+M8 Binary 2MASS J22062280-2047058AB

TL;DR

This study measures the dynamical mass of the M8+M8 binary 2MASS J2206-2047AB using multi-epoch high-resolution imaging, providing insights into its age, temperature, and atmospheric properties, and comparing observations with evolutionary and atmospheric models.

Contribution

First dynamical mass measurement of the M8+M8 binary 2MASS J2206-2047AB spanning 8.3 years, with implications for stellar models and atmospheric understanding.

Findings

Total mass of 0.15 Msun with uncertainties dominated by parallax error.

Estimated system age of approximately 0.4 Gyr from evolutionary models.

Effective temperatures around 2660 K and 2640 K for components A and B, respectively.

Abstract

We present Keck laser guide star adaptive optics imaging of the M8+M8 binary 2MASS J2206-2047AB. Together with archival HST, Gemini-North, and VLT data, our observations span 8.3 years of the binary's 35 year orbital period, and we determine a total dynamical mass of 0.15 (+0.05,-0.03) Msun, with the uncertainty dominated by the parallax error. Using the measured total mass and individual luminosities, the Tucson and Lyon evolutionary models both give an age for the system of 0.4 (+9.6, -0.2) Gyr, which is consistent with its thin disk space motion derived from the Besancon Galactic structure model. Our mass measurement combined with the Tucson (Lyon) evolutionary models also yields precise effective temperatures, giving 2660+-100 K and 2640+-100K (2550+-100 K and 2530+-100 K) for components A and B, respectively. These temperatures are in good agreement with estimates for other M8 dwarfs (from the infrared flux method and the M8 mass benchmark LHS 2397aA), but atmospheric model fitting of the NIR spectrum gives hotter temperatures of 2800+-100 K for both components. This modest discrepancy can be explained by systematic errors in the atmospheric models or by a slight underestimate of the distance (and thus mass and age) of the system. We also find the observed near-infrared colors and magnitudes do not agree with those predicted by the Lyon Dusty models, given the known mass.