2024RNAAS...8..106W

n Centauri is a nearby A-type star. Here we report the discovery of a companion with an H band flux ratio $\tfrac{{f}_{{\rm{B}}}}{{f}_{{\rm{A}}}}=3.9 \% \pm 0.4 \% $ at a projected separation ρ = 570 mas ↔ 26 au based on the acquisition camera image of a VLTI/GRAVITY observation. Isochrone fitting yields masses M_A = 2.07M_⊙ and M_B = 0.88M_⊙ and an age of 900 Myr. The newly discovered companion explains the Δv = 2.3 ± 0.1 km s^–1 Gaia-Hipparcos proper motion change of n Cen in both direction and magnitude as well as its X-ray emission. The interferometric data excludes the presence of any additional companion to the primary with a K band flux ratio higher than 0.9% (M ≳ 0.52M_⊙ for a main sequence star) within ρ > 5 mas ↔ 0.23 au.