A Brown Dwarf Orbiting around the Planetary-nebula Central Binary KV Vel

Abstract

KV Vel is a noneclipsing short-period ( P = 0.3571 days) close binary containing a very hot subdwarf primary (77,000 K) and a cool low-mass secondary star (3400 K) that is located at the center of the planetary nebula DS 1. The changes in the orbital period of the close binary were analyzed based on 262 new times of light maximum together with those compiled from the literature. It is discovered that the O − C curve shows a small-amplitude (0.ͩ0034) cyclic period variation with a period of 29.55 yr. The explanation by the solar-type magnetic activity cycles of the cool component is ruled out because the required energies are much larger than the total radiant energy of this component in a whole cycle. Therefore, the cyclic variation was plausibly explained as the light-travel time effect via the presence of a tertiary component, which is supported by the periodic changes of the O − C curve and the rather symmetric and stable light curves obtained by the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite. The mass of the tertiary companion is determined to be ${M}_{3}\sin i^{\prime} =0.060(\pm 0.007)$ M _⊙ . If the third body is coplanar with the central binary (i.e., $i^{\prime} =62\buildrel{\circ}\over{.} 5$ ), the mass of the tertiary component is computed as M _3 ∼ 0.068 M _⊙ , and thus it would be below the stable hydrogen-burning limit and is a brown dwarf. The orbital separation is shorter than 9.35 au. KV Vel together with its surrounding planetary nebula and the brown-dwarf companion may be formed through the common-envelope evolution after the primary filled its Roche lobe during the early asymptotic giant branch stage.

Keywords

• Close binary stars
• Brown dwarfs
• Subdwarf stars