Confirmation of the Planet around HD 95086 by Direct Imaging

Abstract

VLT/NaCo angular differential imaging at L' (3.8 μm) revealed a probable giant planet comoving with the young and early-type HD 95086, also known to harbor an extended debris disk. The discovery was based on the proper motion analysis of two datasets spanning 15 months. However, the second dataset suffered from bad atmospheric conditions, which limited the significance of the re-detection at the 3σ level. In this Letter, we report new VLT/NaCo observations of HD 95086 obtained on 2013 June 26 and 27 at L' to recover the planet candidate. We unambiguously re-detect the companion HD 95086 b with multiple independent pipelines at a signal-to-noise ratio greater than or equal to 5. Combined with previously reported measurements, our astrometry decisively shows that the planet is comoving with HD 95086 and inconsistent with a background object. With a revised mass of 5 ± 2 Jupiter masses, estimated from its L' photometry and "hot-start" models at 17 ± 4 Myr, HD 95086 b becomes a new benchmark for further physical and orbital characterization of young giant planets.

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