The nearby Sun-like star HD 114174 exhibits a strong and persistent Doppler acceleration indicating the presence of an unseen distant companion .
We have acquired high-contrast imaging observations of this star using NIRC2 at Keck and report the direct detection of the body responsible for causing the “ trend ” .
HD 114174 B has a projected separation of 692 \pm 9 mas ( 18.1 AU ) and is 10.75 \pm 0.12 magnitudes ( contrast of 5 \times 10 ^ { -5 } ) fainter than its host in the K -band , requiring aggressive point-spread function subtraction to identify .
Our astrometric time baseline of 1.4 years demonstrates physical association through common proper motion .
We find that the companion has absolute magnitude , M _ { J } = 13.97 \pm 0.11 , and colors , J - K = 0.12 \pm 0.16 mag .
These characteristics are consistent with an \approx T3 dwarf , initially leading us to believe that HD 114174 B was a substellar object .
However , a dynamical analysis that combines radial velocity measurements with available imaging data indicates a minimum mass of 0.260 \pm 0.010 M _ { \odot } .
We conclude that HD 114174 B must be a white dwarf .
Assuming a hydrogen-rich composition , atmospheric and evolutionary model fits yield an effective temperature T _ { eff } = 8200 \pm 4000 K , surface gravity \log g = 8.90 \pm 0.02 , and cooling age of t _ { c } \approx 3.4 Gyr , which is consistent with the 4.7 ^ { +2.3 } _ { -2.6 } Gyr host star isochronal age estimate .
HD 114174 B is a benchmark object located only 26.14 \pm 0.37 pc from the Sun .
It may be studied at a level of detail comparable to Sirius and Procyon , and used to understand the link between the mass of white dwarf remnants with that of their progenitors .