2MASS J20261584-2943124: An Unresolved L0.5 + T6 Spectral Binary

TL;DR

This paper identifies 2MASS J20261584-2943124 as an unresolved binary system composed of an L0.5 and T6 dwarf, using spectral analysis and high-resolution imaging, and discusses its potential for future dynamical mass measurements.

Contribution

The study demonstrates the identification of an unresolved L0.5 + T6 spectral binary through spectral features and imaging, highlighting its potential for dynamical mass determination.

Findings

Spectral features indicate an L0.5 + T6 binary system.

Keck imaging constrains the separation to less than 0.25 arcsec.

The system's properties suggest it is older than 5 Gyr.

Abstract

We identify the L dwarf 2MASS J20261584-2943124 as an unresolved spectral binary, based on low-resolution, near-infrared spectroscopy from IRTF/SpeX. The data reveal a peculiar absorption feature at 1.6 microns, previously noted in the spectra of other very low-mass spectral binaries, which likely arises from overlapping FeH and CH4 absorption bands in the blended light of an L dwarf/T dwarf pair. Spectral template matching analysis indicates component types of L0.5 and T6, with relative brightness Delta H = 4.2+/-0.6. Laser guide star adaptive optics imaging observations with Keck/NIRC2 fail to resolve the source, indicating a maximum separation at the observing epoch of 0.25 arcsec, or a projected separation of 9 AU assuming a distance of 36+/-5 pc. With an age that is likely to be relatively older (>5 Gyr based on the system's large vtan and mass ratio arguments, the relative motion of the potentially "massive" (0.06-0.08 Msun) components of 2MASS J2026-2943 may be detectable through radial velocity variations, like its earlier-type counterpart 2MASS J03202839-0446358 (M8+T5), providing dynamical mass measurements that span the hydrogen burning limit.