The First Brown Dwarf/Planetary-Mass Object in the 32 Orionis Group

TL;DR

This paper reports the discovery of the first brown dwarf in the 32 Orionis group, a young stellar association, using spectral analysis to determine its properties and membership, highlighting its position near the brown dwarf/planet boundary.

Contribution

The study identifies and characterizes the first substellar member of the 32 Orionis group, providing detailed spectral and kinematic analysis to confirm its membership and properties.

Findings

Discovered a young L1 brown dwarf in 32 Orionis

Estimated mass near the deuterium-burning limit (~14 Jupiter masses)

Confirmed group membership through spectral and kinematic data

Abstract

The 32 Orionis group is a co-moving group of roughly 20 young (24 Myr) M3-B5 stars 100 pc from the Sun. Here we report the discovery of its first substellar member, WISE J052857.69+090104.2. This source was previously reported to be an M giant star based on its unusual near-infrared spectrum and lack of measurable proper motion. We re-analyze previous data and new moderate-resolution spectroscopy from Magellan/FIRE to demonstrate that this source is a young near-infrared L1 brown dwarf with very low surface gravity features. Spectral model fits indicate T$_{eff}$ = 1880$^{+150}_{-70}$ K and $\log{g}$ = 3.8$^{+0.2}_{-0.2}$ (cgs), consistent with a 15-22 Myr object with a mass near the deuterium-burning limit. Its sky position, estimated distance, kinematics (both proper motion and radial velocity), and spectral characteristics are all consistent with membership in 32 Orionis, and its temperature and age imply a mass (M = 14$^{+4}_{-3}$ M$_{Jup}$) that straddles the brown dwarf/planetary-mass object boundary. The source has a somewhat red $J-W2$ color compared to other L1 dwarfs, but this is likely a low-gravity-related temperature offset; we find no evidence of significant excess reddening from a disk or cool companion in the 3-5 $\mu$m waveband.