HIP 67506 C: MagAO-X confirmation of a new low-mass stellar companion to HIP 67506 A

We report the confirmation of HIP 67506 C, a new stellar companion to HIP 67506 A. We previously reported a candidate signal at 2 lambda/D (240 mas) in L-' in MagAO/Clio imaging using the binary differential imaging technique. Several additional indirect signals showed that the candidate signal merited follow-up: significant astrometric acceleration in Gaia DR3, Hipparcos-Gaia proper motion anomaly, and overluminosity compared to single main-sequence stars. We confirmed the companion, HIP 67506 C, at 0.1 arcsec with MagAO-X in 2022 April. We characterized HIP 67506 C MagAO-X photometry and astrometry, and estimated spectral-type K7-M2; we also re-evaluated HIP 67506 A in light of the close companion. Additionally, we show that a previously identified 9 arcsec companion, HIP 67506 B, is a much further distant unassociated background star. We also discuss the utility of indirect signposts in identifying small inner working angle candidate companions.

Automated summary

We confirm the existence of a new stellar companion, HIP 67506 C, to HIP 67506 A. The confirmation was based on several indirect signals, including astrometric acceleration, motion anomaly, and overluminosity. We used MagAO-X to characterize the companion and re-evaluated the primary star, HIP 67506 A. Additionally, we clarified that the previously identified companion, HIP 67506 B, is a distant unassociated background star.