The GAPS Programme at TNG LXVIII. Characterization of the outer substellar companion around HD 72659 with a multi-technique approach

TL;DR

This study combines radial velocity, astrometry, and direct imaging data to confirm and characterize the outer substellar companion of HD 72659, refining its orbital parameters and exploring system dynamics, including potential Kozai-Lidov interactions.

Contribution

It provides a multi-technique approach to confirm the brown dwarf companion and refine its orbital and physical parameters, including mass and period, in the HD 72659 system.

Findings

Confirmed the brown dwarf companion with a mass of ~19 M_J

Refined the orbital period to be twice as long as previously reported

Suggested the Kozai-Lidov mechanism may influence the system dynamics

Abstract

Before discovering the first exoplanets, the Radial Velocity (RV) method had been used for decades to discover binary stars. Despite significant advancements in this technique, it is limited by the intrinsic mass-inclination degeneracy that can be broken when combining RVs with astrometry, which allows us to determine the orbital inclination, or direct imaging, from which we can estimate the true mass of the target. HD 72659 is a solar analog known to host a gas giant on a $\sim 10$-yr orbit and a massive outer companion. This work aims to confirm HD 72659 c, which was recently announced using data from HIRES and HARPS spectrographs in combination with Gaia's astrometric data. We monitored HD 72659 with HARPS-N in the framework of the GAPS project since 2012. We now combined our 91 spectra with literature data and Gaia DR3 high-precision astrometry to constrain the mass and the orbit of this object ($M_{\rm c} \sim 19$ $M_{\rm J}$, $a \sim 21$ au) that falls in the Brown Dwarf desert. Moreover, we analyzed our high-resolution imaging observation taken with SPHERE, but since the target was not detected, we could only derive upper limits on its mass. We characterize the orbital parameters of HD 72659 c, confirming the literature mass of this object but finding a period twice as high as previously reported, and we also refine the parameters of planet b with reduced uncertainties compared to previous works. Finally, we analyze and discuss the dynamic configuration of this system, finding that the Kozai-Lidov mechanism may be at work.