Astrometric Discovery of GJ 802b: In the Brown Dwarf Oasis?

Abstract

The Stellar Planet Survey is an ongoing astrometric search for giant planets and brown dwarfs around a sample of ~30 M dwarfs. We have discovered several low-mass companions by measuring the motion of our target stars relative to their reference frames. The lowest mass discovery thus far is GJ 802b, a companion to the M5 dwarf GJ 802A. The orbital period is 3.14+/-0.03 yr, the system mass is 0.214+/-0.045 M_{solar}, and the semimajor axis is 1.28+/-0.10 AU or 81+/-6 mas. Imaging observations indicate that GJ 802b is likely to be a brown dwarf with the astrometrically determined mass 0.058+/-0.021 M_{solar} (1 {σ} limits). The remaining uncertainty in the orbit is the eccentricity that is now loosely constrained. We discuss how the system age limits the mass and the prospects of further narrowing the mass range when e is more precisely determined.