A brown dwarf companion to the intermediate-mass star HR6037

TL;DR

This study reports the discovery and characterization of a brown dwarf companion to the star HR 6037, including its spectral type, mass, and orbital properties, highlighting its rarity among binary systems.

Contribution

First detection and detailed analysis of a brown dwarf companion to an intermediate-mass star, including spectroscopic and photometric characterization.

Findings

Companion confirmed as co-moving with HR 6037.

Spectral type of the companion is M9+-1.

Mass of the companion is approximately 62 Jupiter masses.

Abstract

In the course of an imaging survey we have detected a visual companion to the intermediate-mass star HR 6037. In this letter, we present two epoch observations of the binary with NACO/VLT, and near-IR spectroscopy of the secondary with ISAAC/VLT. The NACO observations allow us to confirm HR 6037B as a co-moving companion. Its J and H band ISAAC spectra suggest the object has an spectral type of M9+-1, with a surface gravity intermediate between that of 10 Myr dwarfs and field dwarfs with identical spectral type. The comparison of its Ks-band photometry with evolutionary tracks allows us to derive a mass, effective temperature, and surface gravity of 62+-20 MJup, Teff = 2330+-200 K, and log g = 5.1+-0.2, respectively. The small mass ratio of the binary, -0.03, and its long orbital period, -5000 yr, makes HR 6037 a rare and uncommon binary system.