A JWST MIRI MRS View of the η Tel Debris Disk and Its Brown Dwarf Companion

Abstract

We report JWST Mid-Infrared Instrument (MIRI) Medium Resolution Spectrograph (MRS) observations of the β Pic moving-group member, η Tel A, along with its brown dwarf binary companion, η Tel B. Following point-spread-function subtraction, we recover the spatially resolved flux from the debris disk around η Tel A, along with the position of the companion exterior to the disk. We present a new 5–26 μm epoch of spectroscopy for the disk, in which we discover a 20 μm silicate feature, and the first ever 11–21 μm spectrum of η Tel B, which indicates a bare photosphere. We derive a new epoch of relative astrometry for the companion, extending the baseline of measurements to 25 yr, and find that it is currently located near the apocenter of an eccentric long-period orbit. The companion’s orbit is close enough to the disk that it should significantly perturb the planetesimals within it, resulting in a detectable mid-IR pericenter glow and near alignment with the companion. Contrary to expectations, however, we find that the disk appears to be axisymmetric and potentially misaligned with the companion in the MIRI MRS data. We posit that this may be due to the presence of an additional, as-yet-undetected ∼0.7–30 MJ planet orbiting interior to the disk, with a semimajor axis of ∼3–19 au.