Keck Observations in the INfrared of Taurus and ρ Oph Exoplanets And Ultracool Dwarfs (KOINTREAU). II. Two Young Bound Companions to Ophiuchus Stars

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Authors: S. Walker, Michael C. Liu, Dimitri P. Mawet, Mark W. Phillips, Aniket Sanghi, Bin B. Ren, Taichi Uyama
Cited by: 0
References: 84

Abstract

Abstract We present the second set of discoveries from Keck Observations in the INfrared of Taurus and ρ Oph Exoplanets And Ultracool dwarfs (KOINTREAU), an adaptive optics survey of young stars in the Taurus and ρ Oph star-forming regions using Keck/NIRC2 in conjunction with the Keck infrared pyramid wavefront sensor. We have discovered two faint comoving companions to young stars ISO-Oph 96 and 2MASS J16262785−2625152. The companion to ISO-Oph 96, KOINTREAU-3b, is at a projected separation of 340 au (2 . ″ 49). Using our NIRC2 photometry and evolutionary models, and assuming that the companion has the same extinction as its host star, we infer that KOINTREAU-3b has a mass of 3.4 ± 0.7 M Jup . The companion to 2MASS J16262785−2625152, KOINTREAU-4b, has a projected separation of 180 au (1 . ″ 25) and could have a mass of either 11 . 5 − 1.6 + 1.2 M Jup or 15 . 3 − 0.8 + 0.7 M Jup , depending on whether the host star is a member of ρ Oph or Upper Sco.

Fields of Study & Subjects

Stellar planetary and galactic studies Astrophysics and Star Formation Studies Astro and Planetary Science

Publication details

Journal / source
The Astronomical Journal
Volume
171
Issue
3
Pages
142–142
Publication date
11 February 2026
Language
EN