ABSTRACT
We identify and investigate known late M, L, and T dwarfs in the Gaia second data release. This sample is being used as a training set in the Gaia data processing chain of the ultracool ...dwarfs work package. We find 695 objects in the optical spectral range M8–T6 with accurate Gaia coordinates, proper motions, and parallaxes which we combine with published spectral types and photometry from large area optical and infrared sky surveys. We find that 100 objects are in 47 multiple systems, of which 27 systems are published and 20 are new. These will be useful benchmark systems and we discuss the requirements to produce a complete catalogue of multiple systems with an ultracool dwarf component. We examine the magnitudes in the Gaia passbands and find that the GBP magnitudes are unreliable and should not be used for these objects. We examine progressively redder colour–magnitude diagrams and see a notable increase in the main-sequence scatter and a bivariate main sequence for old and young objects. We provide an absolute magnitude – spectral subtype calibration for G and GRP passbands along with linear fits over the range M8–L8 for other passbands.
In a companion work (Paper I), we detected a large population of highly variable Young Stellar Objects (YSOs) in the Vista Variables in the Via Lactea (VVV) survey, typically with class I or flat ...spectrum spectral energy distributions and diverse light-curve types. Here we present infrared spectra (0.9-2.5 ...m) of 37 of these variables, many of them observed in a bright state. The spectra confirm that 15/18 sources with eruptive light curves have signatures of a high accretion rate, either showing EXor-like emission features (... = 2 CO, Br...) and/or FUor-like features (... = 2 CO and H sub( 2)O strongly in absorption). Similar features were seen in some long-term periodic YSOs and faders but not in dippers or short-term variables. The sample includes some dusty Mira variables (typically distinguished by smooth Mira-like light curves), two cataclysmic variables and a carbon star. In total, we have added 19 new objects to the broad class of eruptive variable YSOs with episodic accretion. Eruptive variable YSOs in our sample that were observed at bright states show higher accretion luminosities than the rest of the sample. Most of the eruptive variables differ from the established FUor and EXor subclasses, showing intermediate outburst durations and a mixture of their spectroscopic characteristics. This is in line with a small number of other recent discoveries. Since these previously atypical objects are now the majority amongst embedded members of the class, we propose a new classification for them as MNors. This term (pronounced emnor) follows V1647 Ori, the illuminating star of McNeil's Nebula. (ProQuest: ... denotes formulae/symbols omitted.)
VIRAC: the VVV Infrared Astrometric Catalogue Smith, L. C; Lucas, P. W; Kurtev, R ...
Monthly notices of the Royal Astronomical Society,
02/2018, Volume:
474, Issue:
2
Journal Article
Peer reviewed
Open access
Abstract
We present VIRAC version 1, a near-infrared proper motion and parallax catalogue of the VISTA Variables in the Via Lactea (VVV) survey for 312 587 642 unique sources averaged across all ...overlapping pawprint and tile images covering 560 deg2 of the bulge of the Milky Way and southern disc. The catalogue includes 119 million high-quality proper motion measurements, of which 47 million have statistical uncertainties below 1 mas yr−1. In the 11 < Ks < 14 magnitude range, the high-quality motions have a median uncertainty of 0.67 mas yr−1. The catalogue also includes 6935 sources with quality-controlled 5σ parallaxes with a median uncertainty of 1.1 mas. The parallaxes show reasonable agreement with the Tycho-Gaia Astrometric Solution, though caution is advised for data with modest significance. The SQL data base housing the data is made available via the web. We give example applications for studies of Galactic structure, nearby objects (low-mass stars and brown dwarfs, subdwarfs, white dwarfs) and kinematic distance measurements of young stellar objects. Nearby objects discovered include LTT 7251 B, an L7 benchmark companion to a G dwarf with over 20 published elemental abundances, a bright L subdwarf, VVV 1256−6202, with extremely blue colours and nine new members of the 25 pc sample. We also demonstrate why this catalogue remains useful in the era of Gaia. Future versions will be based on profile fitting photometry, use the Gaia absolute reference frame and incorporate the longer time baseline of the VVV extended survey.
The system of fourplanets discovered around the intermediate-mass star HR8799 offers a unique opportunity to test planet formation theories at large orbital radii and to probe the physics and ...chemistry at play in the atmospheres of self-luminous young (~30 Myr) planets. In this paper (Paper IV), we aim to use these spectra and available photometry to determine how they compare to known objects, what the planet physical properties are, and how their atmospheres work. We compare the available spectra, photometry, and spectral energy distribution (SED) of the planets to field dwarfs and young companions. Our empirical analysis and atmospheric modelling show that an enhanced content in dust and decreased CIA of H2 is certainly responsible for the deviation of the properties of the planet with respect to field dwarfs. The analysis suggests in addition that HR8799c and b have later spectral types than the two other planets, and therefore could both have lower masses.
We have conducted a search for L subdwarf candidates within the photometric catalogues of the UKIRT Infrared Deep Sky Survey and Sloan Digital Sky Survey. Six of our candidates are confirmed as L ...subdwarfs spectroscopically at optical and/or near-infrared wavelengths. We also present new optical spectra of three previously known L subdwarfs (WISEA J001450.17-083823.4, 2MASS J00412179+3547133, and ULAS J124425.75+102439.3). We examined the spectral type and metallicity classification of subclasses of known L subdwarfs. We summarized the spectroscopic properties of L subdwarfs with different spectral types and subclasses. We classify these new L subdwarfs by comparing their spectra to known L subdwarfs and L dwarf standards. We estimate temperatures and metallicities of 22 late-type M and L subdwarfs by comparing their spectra to BT-Settl models. We find that L subdwarfs have temperatures between 1500 and 2700 K, which are higher than similar-typed L dwarfs by around 100-400 K depending on different subclasses and subtypes. We constrained the metallicity ranges of subclasses of M, L, and T subdwarfs. We also discussed the spectral-type and absolute magnitude relationships for L and T subdwarfs.
Abstract
We identify and investigate known ultracool stars and brown dwarfs that are being observed or indirectly constrained by the Gaia mission. These objects will be the core of the Gaia ultracool ...dwarf sample composed of all dwarfs later than M7 that Gaia will provide direct or indirect information on. We match known L and T dwarfs to the Gaia first data release, the Two Micron All Sky Survey and the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer AllWISE survey and examine the Gaia and infrared colours, along with proper motions, to improve spectral typing, identify outliers and find mismatches. There are 321 L and T dwarfs observed directly in the Gaia first data release, of which 10 are later than L7. This represents 45 per cent of all the known LT dwarfs with estimated GaiaG magnitudes brighter than 20.3 mag. We determine proper motions for the 321 objects from Gaia and the Two Micron All Sky Survey positions. Combining the Gaia and infrared magnitudes provides useful diagnostic diagrams for the determination of L and T dwarf physical parameters. We then search the Tycho-Gaia astrometric solution, Gaia first data release subset, to find any objects with common proper motions to known L and T dwarfs and a high probability of being related. We find 15 new candidate common proper motion systems.
We present i and z photometry for 25 T dwarfs and 1 L dwarf. Combined with published photometry, the data show that the i - z, z - Y, and z - J colors of T dwarfs are very red, and continue to ...increase through to the late-type T dwarfs, with a hint of a saturation for the latest types with T sub(eff) approx =600 K. We present new 0.7-1.0 mu m and 2.8-4.2 mu m spectra for the very late type T dwarf UGPS J072227.51-054031.2, as well as improved astrometry for this dwarf. Examination of the spectral energy distribution using new and published data, with Saumon & Marley models, shows that the dwarf has T sub(eff) = 505 + or - 10 K, a mass of 3-11 M sub(Jupiter), and an age between 60 Myr and 1 Gyr. This young age is consistent with the thin disk kinematics of the dwarf. The mass range overlaps with that usually considered to be planetary, despite this being an unbound object discovered in the field near the Sun. This apparently young rapid rotator is also undergoing vigorous atmospheric mixing, as determined by the IRAC and WISE 4.5 mu m photometry and the Saumon & Marley models. The optical spectrum for this 500 K object shows clearly detected lines of the neutral alkalis Cs and Rb, which are emitted from deep atmospheric layers with temperatures of 900-1200 K.
We present 27 new L subdwarfs and classify five of them as esdL and 22 as sdL. Our L subdwarf candidates were selected with the UKIRT Infrared Deep Sky Survey and Sloan Digital Sky Survey. ...Spectroscopic follow-up was carried out primarily with the OSIRIS spectrograph on the Gran Telescopio Canarias. Some of these new objects were followed up with the X-shooter instrument on the Very Large Telescope. We studied the photometric properties of the population of known L subdwarfs using colour-spectral type diagrams and colour-colour diagrams, by comparison with L dwarfs and main sequence stars, and identified new colour spaces for L subdwarf selection/study in current and future surveys. We further discussed the brown dwarf transition-zone and the observational stellar/substellar boundary. We found that about one-third of 66 known L subdwarfs are substellar objects, with two-thirds being very low-mass stars. We also present the Hertzsprung-Russell diagrams, spectral type-absolute magnitude corrections, and tangential velocities of 20 known L subdwarfs observed by the Gaia astrometry satellite. One of our L subdwarf candidates, ULAS J233227.03+123452.0, is a mildly metal-poor spectroscopic binary brown dwarf: a ˜L6p dwarf and a ˜T4p dwarf. This binary is likely a thick disc member according to its kinematics.
We present the spectroscopic analysis of a large sample of late-M, L, and T dwarfs from the United Kingdom Deep Infrared Sky Survey. Using the YJHK photometry from the Large Area Survey and the ...red-optical photometry from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey we selected a sample of 262 brown dwarf candidates and we have followed-up 196 of them using the echelle spectrograph X-shooter on the Very Large Telescope. The large wavelength coverage (0.30–2.48 μm) and moderate resolution (R ∼ 5000–9000) of X-shooter allowed us to identify peculiar objects including 22 blue L dwarfs, 2 blue T dwarfs, and 2 low-gravity M dwarfs. Using a spectral indices-based technique, we identified 27 unresolved binary candidates, for which we have determined the spectral type of the potential components via spectral deconvolution. The spectra allowed us to measure the equivalent width of the prominent absorption features and to compare them to atmospheric models. Cross-correlating the spectra with a radial velocity standard, we measured the radial velocity of our targets, and we determined the distribution of the sample, which is centred at −1.7 ± 1.2 km s−1 with a dispersion of 31.5 km s−1. Using our results, we estimated the space density of field brown dwarfs and compared it with the results of numerical simulations. Depending on the binary fraction, we found that there are (0.85 ± 0.55) × 10−3 to (1.00 ± 0.64) × 10−3 objects per cubic parsec in the L4–L6.5 range, (0.73 ± 0.47) × 10−3 to (0.85 ± 0.55) × 10−3 objects per cubic parsec in the L7–T0.5 range, and (0.74 ± 0.48) × 10−3 to (0.88 ± 0.56) × 10−3 objects per cubic parsec in the T1–T4.5 range. We notice that there seems to be an excess of objects in the L–T transition with respect to the late-T dwarfs, a discrepancy that could be explained assuming a higher binary fraction than expected for the L–T transition, or that objects in the high-mass end and low-mass end of this regime form in different environments, i.e. following different initial mass functions.
We have searched the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer first data release for widely separated (≤10 000 au) late T dwarf companions to Hipparcos and Gliese stars. We have discovered a new binary ...system containing a K-band suppressed T8p dwarf WISEP J142320.86+011638.1 and the mildly metal poor (Fe/H =−0.38 ± 0.06) primary BD +01° 2920 (HIP 70319), a G1 dwarf at a distance of 17.2 pc. This new benchmark has T
eff= 680 ± 55 K and a mass of 20-50M
Jup. Its spectral properties are well modelled except for known discrepancies in the Y and K bands. Based on the well-determined metallicity of its companion, the properties of BD +01° 2920B imply that the currently known T dwarfs are dominated by young low-mass objects. We also present an accurate proper motion for the T8.5 dwarf WISEP J075003.84+272544.8.
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