A Wolf 359 in Sheep's Clothing: Hunting for Substellar Companions in the Fifth-closest System Using Combined High-contrast Imaging and Radial Velocity Analysis

Abstract

Wolf 359 (CN Leo, GJ 406, Gaia DR3 3864972938605115520) is a low-mass star in the fifth-closest neighboring system (2.41 pc). Because of its relative youth and proximity, Wolf 359 offers a unique opportunity to study substellar companions around M stars using infrared high-contrast imaging and radial velocity monitoring. We present the results of Ms -band (4.67 μ m) vector vortex coronagraphic imaging using Keck-NIRC2 and add 12 Keck-HIRES and 68 MAROON-X velocities to the radial velocity baseline. Our analysis incorporates these data alongside literature radial velocities from CARMENES, the High Accuracy Radial velocity Planet Searcher, and Keck-HIRES to rule out the existence of a close ( a 4 M _Jup ) assuming an age of younger than 1 Gyr. We discuss the performance of our high-contrast imaging survey to aid future observers using Keck-NIRC2 in conjunction with the vortex coronagraph in the Ms band and conclude by exploring the direct imaging capabilities with JWST to observe Jupiter- and Neptune-mass planets around Wolf 359.

Keywords

• Coronagraphic imaging
• Direct imaging
• M stars
• Radial velocity
• Exoplanets
• Cold Neptunes