A 5 μm IMAGE OF β PICTORIS b AT A SUB-JUPITER PROJECTED SEPARATION: EVIDENCE FOR A MISALIGNMENT BETWEEN THE PLANET AND THE INNER, WARPED DISK

We present and analyze a new M ' detection of the young exoplanet β Pictoris b from 2008 VLT/NaCo data at a separation of ≈4 AU and a high signal-to-noise rereduction of L ' data taken in 2009 December. Based on our orbital analysis, the planet's orbit is viewed almost perfectly edge-on ( i ∼ 89 deg) and has a Saturn-like semimajor axis of 9.50 AU +3.93 AU − 1.7 AU . Intriguingly, the planet's orbit is aligned with the major axis of the outer disk (Ω ∼ 31 deg) but is probably misaligned with the warp/inclined disk at 80 AU, often cited as a signpost for the planet's existence. Our results motivate new studies to clarify how β Pic b sculpts debris disk structures and whether a second planet is required to explain the warp/inclined disk.