2017/08/27 by Ya-Lin Wu, Patrick Sheehan, Patrick D. Sheehan · 17 citations
Physics and Astronomy · #Accretion (finance) #Astro and Planetary Science #Astronomy #Astrophysics #Astrophysics and Star Formation Studies #Low Mass #Mass ratio #Millimeter #Physics #Planet #Planetary mass #Planetary system #Star formation #Stars #Stellar, planetary, and galactic studies #Submillimeter Array #astro-ph.EP #astro-ph.SR
paper · pdf · doi:10.3847/2041-8213/aa8771
published in The Astrophysical Journal Letters 846(2), L26 (IOP Publishing) · Accepted for publication in ApJL
arxiv created 2017/08/27 · openalex publication_date 2017/09/08 · openalex created_date 2017/09/15 · arxiv updated 2017/09/20 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/05
Abstract Dynamical mass estimates down to the planet-mass regime can help to understand planet formation. We present Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) 1.3 mm observations of FW Tau C, a proposed ∼10 M Jup planet-mass companion at ∼330 au from the host binary FW Tau AB. We spatially and spectrally resolve the accretion disk of FW Tau C in 12 CO (2–1). By modeling the Keplerian rotation of gas, we derive a dynamical mass of ∼0.1 M ☉ . Therefore, FW Tau C is unlikely a planet, but rather a low-mass star with a highly inclined disk. This also suggests that FW Tau is a triple system consisting of three ∼0.1 M ☉ stars.