Very Low-mass Stellar and Substellar Companions to Solar-like Stars from MARVELS II: A Short-period Companion Orbiting an F Star with Evidence of a Stellar Tertiary And Significant Mutual Inclination

Abstract

We report the discovery via radial velocity of a short-period (P = 2.430420
\pm 0.000006 days) companion to the F-type main sequence star TYC 2930-00872-1.
A long-term trend in the radial velocities indicates the presence of a tertiary
stellar companion with $P > 2000$ days. High-resolution spectroscopy of the
host star yields T_eff = 6427 +/- 33 K, log(g) = 4.52 +/- 0.14, and
[Fe/H]=-0.04 +/- 0.05. These parameters, combined with the broad-band spectral
energy distribution and parallax, allow us to infer a mass and radius of the
host star of M_1=1.21 +/- 0.08 M_\odot and R_1=1.09_{-0.13}^{+0.15} R_\odot. We
are able to exclude transits of the inner companion with high confidence. The
host star's spectrum exhibits clear Ca H and K core emission indicating stellar
activity, but a lack of photometric variability and small v*sin(I) suggest the
primary's spin axis is oriented in a pole-on configuration. The rotational
period of the primary from an activity-rotation relation matches the orbital
period of the inner companion to within 1.5 \sigma, suggesting they are tidally
locked. If the inner companion's orbital angular momentum vector is aligned
with the stellar spin axis, as expected through tidal evolution, then it has a
stellar mass of M_2 ~ 0.3-0.4 M_\odot. Direct imaging limits the existence of
stellar companions to projected separations < 30 AU. No set of spectral lines
and no significant flux contribution to the spectral energy distribution from
either companion are detected, which places individual upper mass limits of M <
1.0 M_\odot, provided they are not stellar remnants. If the tertiary is not a
stellar remnant, then it likely has a mass of ~0.5-0.6 M_\odot, and its orbit
is likely significantly inclined from that of the secondary, suggesting that
the Kozai-Lidov mechanism may have driven the dynamical evolution of this
system.