Journal
ASTROPHYSICAL JOURNAL LETTERS
Volume 732, Issue 2, Pages -Publisher
IOP PUBLISHING LTD
DOI: 10.1088/2041-8205/732/2/L34
Keywords
planetary systems; stars: individual (Sirius A, Sirius B); techniques: high angular resolution; white dwarfs
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Funding
- Grants-in-Aid for Scientific Research [22000005] Funding Source: KAKEN
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Astrometric monitoring of the Sirius binary system over the past century has yielded several predictions for an unseen third system component, the most recent one suggesting a less than or similar to 50 M-Jup object in a similar to 6.3 year orbit around Sirius A. Here we present two epochs of high-contrast imaging observations performed with Subaru IRCS and AO188 in the 4.05 mu m narrowband Br alpha filter. These data surpass previous observations by an order of magnitude in detectable companion mass, allowing us to probe the relevant separation range down to the planetary-mass regime (6-12 M-Jup at 1 '', 2-4 M-Jup at 2 '', and 1.6 M-Jup beyond 4 ''). We complement these data with one epoch of M-band observations from MMT/AO Clio, which reach comparable performance. No data set reveals any companion candidates above the 5 sigma level, allowing us to refute the existence of Sirius C as suggested by the previous astrometric analysis. Furthermore, our Br alpha photometry of Sirius B confirms the lack of an infrared excess beyond the white dwarf's blackbody spectrum.
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