A JWST MIRI MRS View of the η Tel Debris Disk and Its Brown Dwarf Companion

Yiwei Chai; Christine H. Chen; Kadin Worthen; Alexis Li; Antranik A. Sefilian; William Balmer; Dean C. Hines; David R. Law; B. A. Sargent; Mark Wyatt; Cicero X. Lu; Marshall D. Perrin; Isabel Rebollido; Emily Rickman; G. C. Sloan

doi:10.3847/1538-4357/ad74f4

The Astrophysical Journal (Jan 2024)

A JWST MIRI MRS View of the η Tel Debris Disk and Its Brown Dwarf Companion

Yiwei Chai,
Christine H. Chen,
Kadin Worthen,
Alexis Li,
Antranik A. Sefilian,
William Balmer,
Dean C. Hines,
David R. Law,
B. A. Sargent,
Mark Wyatt,
Cicero X. Lu,
Marshall D. Perrin,
Isabel Rebollido,
Emily Rickman,
G. C. Sloan

Affiliations

Yiwei Chai: ORCiD; William H. Miller III Department of Physics and Astronomy, Johns Hopkins University , 3400 N. Charles Street, Baltimore, MD 21218, USA ; [email protected]
Christine H. Chen: ORCiD; William H. Miller III Department of Physics and Astronomy, Johns Hopkins University , 3400 N. Charles Street, Baltimore, MD 21218, USA ; [email protected]; Space Telescope Science Institute , 3700 San Martin Drive, Baltimore, MD 21218, USA
Kadin Worthen: ORCiD; William H. Miller III Department of Physics and Astronomy, Johns Hopkins University , 3400 N. Charles Street, Baltimore, MD 21218, USA ; [email protected]
Alexis Li: ORCiD; William H. Miller III Department of Physics and Astronomy, Johns Hopkins University , 3400 N. Charles Street, Baltimore, MD 21218, USA ; [email protected]
Antranik A. Sefilian: ORCiD; Astrophysikalisches Institut und Universitätssternwarte, Friedrich-Schiller-Universität Jena , Schillergäßchen 2–3, D-07745 Jena, Germany; Department of Astronomy and Steward Observatory, University of Arizona , Tucson, AZ 85721, USA
William Balmer: ORCiD; William H. Miller III Department of Physics and Astronomy, Johns Hopkins University , 3400 N. Charles Street, Baltimore, MD 21218, USA ; [email protected]
Dean C. Hines: ORCiD; Space Telescope Science Institute , 3700 San Martin Drive, Baltimore, MD 21218, USA
David R. Law: ORCiD; Space Telescope Science Institute , 3700 San Martin Drive, Baltimore, MD 21218, USA
B. A. Sargent: ORCiD; William H. Miller III Department of Physics and Astronomy, Johns Hopkins University , 3400 N. Charles Street, Baltimore, MD 21218, USA ; [email protected]; Space Telescope Science Institute , 3700 San Martin Drive, Baltimore, MD 21218, USA
Mark Wyatt: ORCiD; Institute of Astronomy, University of Cambridge , Madingley Road, Cambridge CB3 0HA, UK
Cicero X. Lu: ORCiD; Gemini Observatory/NSF’s NOIRLab , 670N. A’ohoku Place, Hilo, HI 96720, USA
Marshall D. Perrin: ORCiD; Space Telescope Science Institute , 3700 San Martin Drive, Baltimore, MD 21218, USA
Isabel Rebollido: ORCiD; Centro de Astrobiología (CAB) , INTA-CSIC, Camino Bajo del Castillo s/n - Villafranca del Castillo, 28692 Villanueva de la Cañada, Madrid, Spain
Emily Rickman: ORCiD; European Space Agency (ESA), ESA Office, Space Telescope Science Institute , 3700 San Martin Drive, Baltimore, MD 21218, USA
G. C. Sloan: ORCiD; Space Telescope Science Institute , 3700 San Martin Drive, Baltimore, MD 21218, USA; Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill , Chapel Hill, NC 27599-3255, USA

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/ad74f4
Journal volume & issue: Vol. 976, no. 2
p. 167

Abstract

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We report JWST Mid-Infrared Instrument (MIRI) Medium Resolution Spectrograph (MRS) observations of the β Pic moving-group member, η Tel A, along with its brown dwarf binary companion, η Tel B. Following point-spread-function subtraction, we recover the spatially resolved flux from the debris disk around η Tel A, along with the position of the companion exterior to the disk. We present a new 5–26 μ m epoch of spectroscopy for the disk, in which we discover a 20 μ m silicate feature, and the first ever 11–21 μ m spectrum of η Tel B, which indicates a bare photosphere. We derive a new epoch of relative astrometry for the companion, extending the baseline of measurements to 25 yr, and find that it is currently located near the apocenter of an eccentric long-period orbit. The companion’s orbit is close enough to the disk that it should significantly perturb the planetesimals within it, resulting in a detectable mid-IR pericenter glow and near alignment with the companion. Contrary to expectations, however, we find that the disk appears to be axisymmetric and potentially misaligned with the companion in the MIRI MRS data. We posit that this may be due to the presence of an additional, as-yet-undetected ∼0.7–30 M _J planet orbiting interior to the disk, with a semimajor axis of ∼3–19 au.

Published in The Astrophysical Journal

ISSN: 1538-4357 (Online)
Publisher: IOP Publishing
Country of publisher: United Kingdom
LCC subjects: Science: Astronomy: Astrophysics
Website: https://iopscience.iop.org/journal/0004-637X

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