Direct confirmation of the radial-velocity planet $\beta$ Pic c

Abstract

Methods used to detect giant exoplanets can be broadly divided into two categories: indirect and direct. Indirect methods are more sensitive to planets with a small orbital period, whereas direct detection is more sensitive to planets orbiting at a large distance from their host star. %, and thus on long orbital period. This dichotomy makes it difficult to combine the two techniques on a single target at once. Simultaneous measurements made by direct and indirect techniques offer the possibility of determining the mass and luminosity of planets and a method of testing formation models. Here, we aim to show how long-baseline interferometric observations guided by radial-velocity can be used in such a way. We observed the recently-discovered giant planet $\beta$ Pictoris c with GRAVITY, mounted on the Very Large Telescope Interferometer (VLTI). This study constitutes the first direct confirmation of a planet discovered through radial velocity. We find that the planet has a temperature of $T = 1250\pm50$\,K and a dynamical mass of $M = 8.2\pm0.8\,M_{\rm Jup}$. At $18.5\pm2.5$\,Myr, this puts $\beta$ Pic c close to a 'hot start' track, which is usually associated with formation via disk instability. Conversely, the planet orbits at a distance of 2.7\,au, which is too close for disk instability to occur. The low apparent magnitude ($M_{\rm K} = 14.3 \pm 0.1$) favours a core accretion scenario. We suggest that this apparent contradiction is a sign of hot core accretion, for example, due to the mass of the planetary core or the existence of a high-temperature accretion shock during formation.