The trends high-contrast imaging survey. II. Direct detection of the hd 8375 tertiary

Abstract

We present the direct imaging detection of a faint tertiary companion to the single-lined spectroscopic binary HD 8375 AB. Initially noticed as an 53 m s-1 yr-1 Doppler acceleration by Bowler et al., we have obtained high-contrast adaptive optics observations at Keck using NIRC2 that spatially resolve HD 8375 C from its host(s). Astrometric measurements demonstrate that the companion shares a common proper-motion. We detect orbital motion in a clockwise direction. Multiband relative photometry measurements are consistent with an early M-dwarf spectral type (sim;M1V). Our combined Doppler and imaging observations place a lower-limit of m ≥ 0.297 M⊙ on its dynamical mass. We also provide a refined orbit for the inner pair using recent radial velocity measurements obtained with the High Resolution Echelle Spectrometer. HD 8375 is one of many triple-star systems that are apparently missing in the solar neighborhood. © 2013. The American Astronomical Society. All rights reserved.