Abstract
We have discovered that the white dwarf star Giclas 29 – 38 appears to emit substantial radiation at wavelengths between 2 and 5 μm, far in excess of that expected from an extrapolation of the visual and near-infrared spectrum of the star. The infrared colour temperature of the excess radiation is 1,200±200 K and, at the distance of G29 – 38, corresponds to a total luminosity of 5 × 10−5 solar luminosities (L⊙). If the excess 3.5-μm radiation is emitted by a single spherical body at 1,200 K, then its radius is 0.15 solar radii (R⊙). These characteristics are similar to those that have been calculated for substellar objects called brown dwarfs. The most natural interpretation of our observations is that there is a substellar, somewhat Jupiter-like brown dwarf in orbit around G29–38.
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Zuckerman, B., Becklin, E. Excess infrared radiation from a white dwarf—an orbiting brown dwarf?. Nature 330, 138–140 (1987). https://doi.org/10.1038/330138a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/330138a0
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