The First Spin-Orbit Obliquity of an M dwarf/brown dwarf system: an eccentric and aligned TOI-2119 b

Cegla, Heather M.; Mahadevan, Suvrath; Bayliss, Daniel; Armstrong, David J.; Cañas, Caleb I.; Kanodia, Shubham; Robertson, Paul; Veras, Dimitri; Libby-Roberts, Jessica E.; Lin, Andrea S. J.; Anderson, David; Doyle, Lauren; Stefánsson, Guðmundur K.; Bender, Chad; Carmichael, Theron W.; Casewell, Sarah; Lafarga, Marina; Monson, Andy

United Kingdom, United States, Netherlands, Chile

Abstract

We report the first instance of an M dwarf/brown dwarf obliquity measurement for the TOI-2119 system using the Rossiter-McLaughlin effect. TOI-2119 b is a transiting brown dwarf orbiting a young, active early M dwarf ($T_{\rm {eff}}$ = 3553 K). It has a mass of 64.4 M$_{\rm {J}}$ and radius of 1.08 R$_{\rm {J}}$, with an eccentric orbit (e = 0.3) at a period of 7.2 d. For this analysis, we utilize NEID spectroscopic transit observations and ground-based simultaneous transit photometry from the Astrophysical Research Consortium and the Las Campanas Remote Observatory. We fit all available data of TOI-2119 b to refine the brown dwarf parameters and update the ephemeris. The classical Rossiter-McLaughlin technique yields a projected star-planet obliquity of $\lambda =-0.8\pm 1.1^\circ$ and a three-dimensional obliquity of $\psi =15.7\pm 5.5^\circ$. Additionally, we spatially resolve the stellar surface of TOI-2119 utilizing the Reloaded Rossiter-McLaughlin technique to determine the projected star-planet obliquity as $\lambda =1.26 \pm 1.3^{\circ }$. Both of these results agree within $2\sigma$ and confirm the system is aligned, where TOI-2119 b joins an emerging group of aligned brown dwarf obliquities. We also probe stellar surface activity on the surface of TOI-2119 in the form of centre-to-limb variations as well as the potential for differential rotation. Overall, we find tentative evidence for centre-to-limb variations on the star but do not detect evidence of differential rotation.

2025 Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
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