True masses of the long-period companions to HD 92987 and HD 221420 from Hipparcos-Gaia astrometry

TL;DR

This study combines Hipparcos-Gaia astrometry with radial velocity data to accurately determine the true masses of long-period substellar companions, revealing they are often more massive than initial estimates suggested.

Contribution

It demonstrates how Hipparcos-Gaia astrometry can be used to measure true masses of long-period companions, improving upon radial velocity estimates.

Findings

HD 92987 B is a low-mass star, not a planet.

HD 221420 b is a high-mass brown dwarf or super-planet.

Both companions are suitable for direct imaging studies.

Abstract

The extensive timespan of modern radial velocity surveys has made the discovery of long-period substellar companions more common in recent years, however measuring the true masses of these objects remains challenging. Astrometry from the Gaia mission is expected to provide mass measurements for many of these long-period companions, but this data is not yet available. However, combining proper motion data from Gaia DR2 and the earlier Hipparcos mission makes it possible to measure true masses of substellar companions in favourable cases. In this work, we combine radial velocities with Hipparcos-Gaia astrometry to measure the true masses of two recently discovered long-period substellar companion candidates, HD 92987 B and HD 221420 b. In both cases, we find that the true masses are significantly higher than implied by radial velocities alone. A $2087 \pm 19$ m s$^{-1}$ astrometric signal reveals that HD 92987 B is not close to its $17$ $M_J$ minimum mass but is instead a $0.2562 \pm 0.0045$ $M_\odot$ star viewed at a near-polar orbital inclination, whereas the $22.9 \pm 2.2$ $M_J$ HD 221420 b can be plausibly interpreted as a high-mass "super-planet" or a low-mass brown dwarf. With semi-major axes of $\sim$10 AU both companions are interesting targets for direct imaging, and HD 221420 b in particular would be a benchmark metal-rich substellar object if it proves possible to directly detect. Our results demonstrate the power of Hipparcos-Gaia astrometry for studying long-period planet and brown dwarf candidates discovered from radial velocity surveys.