On the Age and Binarity of Fomalhaut

Abstract

The nearby (d = 7.7 pc) A3V star Fomalhaut is orbited by a resolved dusty debris disk and a controversial candidate extrasolar planet. The commonly cited age for the system (200+-100 Myr) from Barrado y Navascues et al. (1997) relied on a combination of isochronal age plus youth indicators for the K4V common proper motion system TW PsA. TW PsA is 1.96 deg away from Fomalhaut, and was first proposed as a companion by Luyten (1938), but the physicality of the binarity is worth testing with modern data. I demonstrate that TW PsA is unequivocally a physical stellar companion to Fomalhaut, with true separation 0.280+0.019-0.012 pc (57.4+3.9-2.5 kAU) and sharing velocities within 0.1+-0.5 km/s -- consistent with being a bound system. Hence, TW PsA should be considered "Fomalhaut B". Combining modern HR diagram constraints with four sets of evolutionary tracks, and assuming the star was born with protosolar composition, I estimate a new isochronal age for Fomalhaut of 450+-40 Myr and mass of 1.92+-0.02 Msun. Various stellar youth diagnostics are re-examined for TW PsA. The star's rotation, X-ray emission, and Li abundances are consistent with approximate ages of 410, 380, and 360 Myr, respectively, yielding a weighted mean age of 400+-70 Myr. Combining the independent ages, I estimate a mean age for the Fomalhaut-TW PsA binary of 440+-40 Myr. The older age implies that substellar companions of a given mass are approximately one magnitude fainter at IR wavelengths than previously assumed.

ApJ Letters, in press, 5 pages in emulateapj, 1 figure. Minor edits. Difference in velocity between Fomalhaut and TW PsA corrected to be 0.1+-0.5 km/s

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