The Radio Continuum Source Projected Near HR 8799

Abstract

HR 8799 is an A5/F0 V star where exoplanets were first directly imaged. Four exoplanets were found within ≃ 2." 0 from the star. Here we report the VLA detection of a faint (19.1±2.7 μJy) radio continuum (3.0 GHz) source projected at ≃ 2." 2 from the star. The a priori probability of finding a background source with this flux density within a radius of 2." 2 is only 0.0046. However, the astrometry made with the VLA and ALMA images, separated by 5.5 years, indicates no significant proper motions and rules out the association of the radio source with the HR 8799 system and suggests it is a background millimeter galaxy with dust emission in the millimeter and partially thick synchrotron emission in the centimeter.