Hybrid star HD 81817 accompanied by brown dwarf or substellar companion

TL;DR

This study analyzes radial velocity data of the hybrid star HD 81817, revealing a likely brown dwarf or substellar companion with a 1047-day orbit, and distinguishes stellar activity-induced variations from companion-induced signals.

Contribution

First detection of a brown dwarf or substellar companion around a hybrid star using long-term RV monitoring and Gaia data, clarifying the origin of RV variations.

Findings

Detected a 1047.1-day RV variation likely caused by a brown dwarf or substellar companion.

Identified a 627.4-day RV variation caused by stellar activity such as pulsations or surface modulations.

Derived a minimum mass of 27.1 Jupiter masses for the companion, placing it in the brown dwarf desert.

Abstract

HD 81817 is known as a hybrid star. Hybrid stars have both cool stellar wind properties and Ultraviolet (UV) or even X-ray emission features of highly ionized atoms in their spectra. A white dwarf companion has been suggested as the source of UV or X-ray features. HD 81817 has been observed since 2004 as a part of a radial velocity (RV) survey program to search for exoplanets around K giant stars using the Bohyunsan Observatory Echelle Spectrograph at the 1.8 m telescope of Bohyunsan Optical Astronomy Observatory in Korea. We obtained 85 RV measurements between 2004 and 2019 for HD 81817 and found two periodic RV variations. The amplitudes of RV variations are around 200 m s^-1, which are significantly lower than that expected from a closely orbiting white dwarf companion. Photometric data and relevant spectral lines were also analyzed to help determine the origin of the periodic RV variations. We conclude that 627.4-day RV variations are caused by intrinsic stellar activities such as long-term pulsations or rotational modulations of surface activities based on H{\alpha} equivalent width (EW) variations of a similar period. On the other hand, 1047.1-day periodic RV variations are likely to be caused by a brown dwarf or substellar companion, which is corroborated by a recent GAIA proper motion anomaly for HD 81817. The Keplerian fit yields a minimum mass of 27.1 M_Jup, a semimajor axis of 3.3 AU, and an eccentricity of 0.17 for the stellar mass of 4.3 M_sun for HD 81817. The inferred mass puts HD 81817 b in the brown dwarf desert.