Cold and eccentric: a high-spectral resolution view of 51 Eri b with VLT/HiRISE

TL;DR

This study uses high-resolution spectroscopy to measure the radial velocity of exoplanet 51 Eri b, enabling a detailed orbital characterization and insights into potential external influences on its orbit.

Contribution

First high-resolution spectroscopic radial velocity measurements of 51 Eri b, allowing for an unambiguous orbital solution and constraints on unseen perturbers.

Findings

Derived the planet's radial velocity at four epochs.

Constrained the orbital eccentricity to e=0.55.

Suggested possible external perturbers influencing the orbit.

Abstract

Discovered almost 10 years ago, the giant planet 51 Eridani b is one of the least separated (0.2 arcsec) and faintest (J = 19.74 mag) directly imaged exoplanets known to date. Its atmospheric properties have been thoroughly investigated through low- and medium-resolution spectroscopic observations, enabling robust characterization of the planet's bulk parameters. However, the planet's intrinsically high contrast renders high-resolution spectroscopic observations difficult, despite their potential to yield key measurements essential for a more comprehensive characterization. This study seeks to constrain the planet's radial velocity, enabling a full 3D orbital solution when integrated with previous measurements. We have obtained 4 high-contrast high-resolution (R = 140000) spectroscopic datasets of the planet, collected over a two-year interval with the HiRISE visitor instrument at the VLT to derive the planet's radial velocity. Using self-consistent models of atmosphere, we were able to derive the radial velocity of the planet at each of the 4 epochs. These radial velocity measurements were then used in combination with all existing relative astrometry in order to constrain the orbit of the planet. Our radial velocity measurements allow us to break the degeneracy along the line of sight, making it now possible the unambiguous interpretation of the phase curve of the companion. We further constrain the orbital parameters, particularly the eccentricity, for which we derive e = 0.55 (-0.07, +0.03). The relatively high eccentricity indicates that the system has experienced dynamical interactions induced by an external perturber. We place constraints on the mass and semi-major axis of a hypothetical, unseen outer planet capable of producing the observed high eccentricities.