Warm Dusty Debris Disks and Distant Companion Stars: V488 Per and 2M1337

Abstract

A possible connection between the presence of large quantities of warm (T$\geq$200 K) circumstellar dust at youthful stars and the existence of wide-separation companion stars has been noted in the literature. Here we point out the existence of a distant companion star to V488 Per, a K-type member of the $α$ Persei cluster with the largest known fractional excess infrared luminosity ($\sim$16\%) of any main sequence star. We also report the presence of a distant companion to the previously recognized warm dust star 2M1337. With these discoveries the existence of a cause and effect relationship between a distant companion and large quantities of warm dust in orbit around youthful stars now seems compelling.

Accepted for ApJ