Paper: astro-ph/0512450
Date: Fri, 16 Dec 2005 21:51:54 GMT (12kb)

Title: The Origins of the Substellar Companion to GQ Lup

Authors: J.H. Debes, S. Sigurdsson

Comments: 6 pages, submitted to A&A
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The recently discovered substellar companion to GQ Lup possibly represents a
direct test of current planet formation theories.

We examine the possible formation scenarios for the companion to GQ Lup
assuming it is a $\sim$2 M$_{Jup}$ object. We determine that GQ Lup B most
likely was scattered into a large, eccentric orbit by an interaction with
another planet in the inner system.

If this is the case, several directly observable predictions can be made,
including the presence of a more massive, secondary companion that could be
detected through astrometry, radial velocity measurements, or scuplting in GQ
Lup's circumstellar disk. This scenario requires a highly eccentric orbit for
the companion already detected. These predictions can be tested within the next
decade or so. Additionally, we look at scenarios of formation if the companion
is a brown dwarf. One possible formation scenario may involve an interaction
between a brown dwarf binary and GQ Lup. We look for evidence of any brown
dwarfs that have been ejected from the GQ Lup system by searching the 2MASS
all-sky survey.

\\ ( http://arXiv.org/abs/astro-ph/0512450 , 12kb)