3D orbital architecture of a dwarf binary system and its planetary companion

TL;DR

This study uses high-precision astrometry to fully characterize the 3D orbital architecture of a binary star system with a Jupiter-like planet, revealing a retrograde orbit and large mutual inclination, which informs theories of planet formation.

Contribution

It provides the first complete 3D orbital characterization of a binary system with a planet, combining optical, infrared, and radio astrometry data.

Findings

Binary and planetary orbits are retrograde.

Mutual inclination angle is 148 degrees.

First full 3D orbital plane orientation of such a system.

Abstract

Because of the diversity of stellar masses and orbital sizes of binary systems, and the complex interaction between star-star, star-planet and planet-planet, it has been difficult to fully characterize the planetary systems associated with binary systems. Here, we report high-precision astrometric observations of the low-mass binary system GJ 896AB, revealing the presence of a Jupiter-like planetary companion (GJ 896Ab). The planetary companion is associated to the main star GJ 896A, with an estimated mass of 2.3 Jupiter masses and an orbit period of 284.4 days. A simultaneous analysis of the relative astrometric data obtained in the optical and infrared with several telescopes, and the absolute astrometric data obtained at radio wavelengths with the Very Long Baseline Array (VLBA), reveals, for the first time, the fully characterized three-dimensional (3D) orbital plane orientation of the binary system and the planetary companion. The planetary and binary orbits are found to be in a retrograde configuration and with a large mutual inclination angle ($\Phi$ = 148 deg) between both orbital planes. Characterizing the 3D orbital architecture of binary systems with planets is important in the context of planet formation, as it could reveal whether the systems were formed by disk fragmentation or turbulence fragmentation, as well as the origin of spin-orbit misalignment. Furthermore, since most stars are in binary or multiple systems, our understanding of systems such as this one will help to further understand the phenomenon of planetary formation in general.