Radial velocity observations of VB10

R. Deshpande^1a, E. Martin^1,2, M.R. Zapatero Osorio², C. del Burgo³, F. Rodler⁴ and M.M. Montgomery¹

¹ University of Central Florida, Department of Physics, Orlando, FL 32816-2385, USA
² Centro de Astrobiologia (CSIC-INTA), Ctra. Ajalvir km 4, 28850 Torrejon de Ardoz, Madrid, Spain
³ School of Cosmic Physics, Dublin Institute of Advance Studies, Ireland
⁴ Instituto de Astrofisica de Canarias, 38025 La Laguna, Tenerife, Spain

^a e-mail: rohit@physics.ucf.edu

Published online: 18 July 2011

Abstract

VB 10 is the smallest star known to harbor a planet according to the recent astrometric study of Pravdo & Shaklan [1]. Here we present near-infrared (J-band) radial velocity of VB 10 performed from high resolution (R~20,000) spectroscopy (NIRSPEC/KECK II). Our results [2] suggest radial velocity variability with amplitude of ~1 km/s, a result that is consistent with the presence of a massive planet companion around VB10 as found via long-term astrometric monitoring of the star by Pravdo & Shaklan. Employing an entirely different technique we verify the results of Pravdo & Shaklan.