Varun Bhalerao¹ and M.N. Vahia^2
1 Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, Powai, Mumbai 400 076, India
² Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Homi Bhabha Road, Colaba, Mumbai 400 005, India

Abstract. We assume that if the sun has a companion, it has a period of 27 Myr corresponding to the periodicity seen in cometary impacts on earth. Based on this assumption, it is seen that the inner Lagrangian point of the interaction between the Sun and its companion is in the Oort cloud. From this we calculate the mass ­ distance relation for the companion. We then compute the expected apparent magnitude (visible and J band) for the companion using the models of Burrows (1993). We then compare this with the catalogue completeness of optical and infrared catalogues to show that the sun cannot have a companion of mass greater than 44 M_jup (0.042 M_{O dot} ).

Keywords: Minor planets, asteroids - Oort Cloud - Solar system: general (stars:) binaries: general - stars: low-mass, brown dwarfs

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