We report unusual near- and mid-infrared photometric properties of ( catalog G 196–3 B ) , the young substellar companion at 16″ from the active M2.5-type star ( catalog G 196–3 A ) , using data taken with the IRAC and MIPS instruments onboard Spitzer . ( catalog G 196–3 B ) shows markedly redder colors at all wavelengths from 1.6 up to 24 \micron than expected for its spectral type , which is determined at L3 from optical and near-infrared spectra .
We discuss various physical scenarios to account for its reddish nature , and conclude that a low-gravity atmosphere with enshrouded upper atmospheric layers and/or a warm dusty disk/envelope provides the most likely explanations , the two of them consistent with an age in the interval 20–300 Myr .
We also present new and accurate separate proper motion measurements for ( catalog G 196–3 A ) and B confirming that both objects are gravitationally linked and share the same motion within a few mas yr ^ { -1 } .
After integration of the combined spectrophotometric spectral energy distributions , we obtain that the difference in the bolometric magnitudes of ( catalog G 196–3 A ) and B is 6.15 \pm 0.10 mag .
Kinematic consideration of the Galactic space motions of the system for distances in the interval 15–30 pc suggests that the pair is a likely member of the Local Association , and that it lay near the past positions of young star clusters like \alpha Persei less than 85 Myr ago , where the binary might have originated .
At these young ages , the mass of ( catalog G 196–3 B ) would be in the range 12–25 M _ { Jup } , close to the frontier between planets and brown dwarfs .