Extrasolar planets and brown dwarfs around A - F type stars ⋆ III . β Pictoris

In the frame of the search for extrasolar planets and brown dwarfs around early-type stars, we present the results obtained on β Pictoris, which is surrounded by a circumstellar disk that is warped by the presence of a planet. We used 97 spectra acquired with CORALIE and 230 spectra acquired with HARPS to characterize the radial velocity behavior of β Pictoris and to infer constraints on the presence of a planet close to this star. With these data, we were able to exclude the presence of an inner giant planet (2 M Jup at a distance to the star of 0.05 AU, 9 M Jup at 1 AU). We also discuss the origin of the observed radial velocity variations in terms of δ Scuti type pulsations.