1,892 research outputs found
Confirming the least massive members of the Pleiades star cluster
We present optical photometry (i- and Z-band) and low-resolution spectroscopy
(640-1015 nm) of very faint candidate members (J = 20.2-21.2 mag) of the
Pleiades star cluster (120 Myr). The main goal is to address their cluster
membership via photometric, astrometric, and spectroscopic studies, and to
determine the properties of the least massive population of the cluster through
the comparison of the data with younger and older spectral counterparts and
state-of-the art model atmospheres. We confirm three bona-fide Pleiades members
that have extremely red optical and infrared colors, effective temperatures of
~1150 K and ~1350 K, and masses in the interval 11-20 Mjup, and one additional
likely member that shares the same motion as the cluster but does not appear to
be as red as the other members with similar brightness. This latter object
requires further near-infrared spectroscopy to fully address its membership in
the Pleiades. The optical spectra of two bona-fide members were classified as
L6-L7 and show features of KI, a tentative detection of CsI, hydrides and water
vapor with an intensity similar to high-gravity dwarfs of related
classification despite their young age. The properties of the Pleiades L6-L7
members clearly indicate that very red colors of L dwarfs are not a direct
evidence of ages younger than ~100 Myr. We also report on the determination of
the bolometric corrections for the coolest Pleiades members. These data can be
used to interpret the observations of the atmospheres of exoplanets orbiting
stars.Comment: Accepted for publication in MNRAS (17 pages
Lithium abundances from the 6104A line in cool Pleiades stars
Lithium abundances determined by spectral synthesis from both the 6708A
resonance line and the 6104 subordinate line are reported for 11 late-type
Pleiades stars, including spectra previously analysed by Russell (1996). We
report a 0.7 dex scatter in the abundances from 6708A, and a scatter at least
as large from the 6104A line. We find a reasonable correllation between the
6104A and 6708A Li abundances, although four stars have 6104A-determined
abundances which are significantly larger than the 6708-determined values, by
up to 0.5 dex, suggesting problems with the homogeneous, one-dimensional
atmospheres being used. We show that these discrepancies can be explained,
although probably not uniquely, by the presence of star spots with plausible
coverage fractions. The addition of spots does not significantly reduce the
apparent scatter in Li abundances, leaving open the possibility that at least
some of the spread is caused by real star-to-star differences in pre-main-
sequence Li depletion.Comment: 13 pages, 7 figures; Accepted by A&A 17/05/0
Fe I and Fe II Abundances of Solar-Type Dwarfs in the Pleiades Open Cluster
We have derived Fe abundances of 16 solar-type Pleiades dwarfs by means of an
equivalent width analysis of Fe I and Fe II lines in high-resolution spectra
obtained with the Hobby - Eberly Telescope and High Resolution Spectrograph.
Abundances derived from Fe II lines are larger than those derived from Fe I
lines (herein referred to as over-ionization) for stars with Teff < 5400 K, and
the discrepancy (deltaFe = [Fe II/H] - [Fe I/H]) increases dramatically with
decreasing Teff, reaching over 0.8 dex for the coolest stars of our sample. The
Pleiades joins the open clusters M 34, the Hyades, IC 2602, and IC 2391, and
the Ursa Major moving group, demonstrating ostensible over-ionization trends.
The Pleiades deltaFe abundances are correlated with Ca II infrared triplet and
Halpha chromospheric emission indicators and relative differences therein.
Oxygen abundances of our Pleiades sample derived from the high-excitation O I
triplet have been previously shown to increase with decreasing Teff, and a
comparison with the deltaFe abundances suggests that the over-excitation
(larger abundances derived from high excitation lines relative to low
excitation lines) and over-ionization effects that have been observed in cool
open cluster and disk field main sequence (MS) dwarfs share a common origin.
Star-to-star Fe I abundances have low internal scatter, but the abundances of
stars with Teff < 5400 K are systematically higher compared to the warmer
stars. The cool star [Fe I/H] abundances cannot be connected directly to
over-excitation effects, but similarities with the deltaFe and O I triplet
trends suggest the abundances are dubious. Using the [Fe I/H] abundances of
five stars with Teff > 5400 K, we derive a mean Pleiades cluster metallicity of
[Fe/H] = +0.01 +/- 0.02.Comment: 32 pages, 7 figures, 7 tables; accepted by PAS
Direct Imaging of Multiple Planets Orbiting the Star HR 8799
Direct imaging of exoplanetary systems is a powerful technique that can
reveal Jupiter-like planets in wide orbits, can enable detailed
characterization of planetary atmospheres, and is a key step towards imaging
Earth-like planets. Imaging detections are challenging due to the combined
effect of small angular separation and large luminosity contrast between a
planet and its host star. High-contrast observations with the Keck and Gemini
telescopes have revealed three planets orbiting the star HR 8799, with
projected separations of 24, 38, and 68 astronomical units. Multi-epoch data
show counter-clockwise orbital motion for all three imaged planets. The low
luminosity of the companions and the estimated age of the system imply
planetary masses between 5 and 13 times that of Jupiter. This system resembles
a scaled-up version of the outer portion of our Solar System.Comment: 30 pages, 5 figures, Research Article published online in Science
Express Nov 13th, 200
Search for free-floating planetary-mass objects in the Pleiades
(Abridged) We aim at identifying the least massive population of the solar
metallicity, young (120 Myr), nearby (133.5 pc) Pleiades star cluster with the
ultimate goal of understanding the physical properties of intermediate-age,
free-floating, low-mass brown dwarfs and giant planetary-mass objects, and
deriving the cluster substellar mass function across the deuterium-burning mass
limit at ~0.012 Msol. We performed a deep photometric and astrometric J- and
H-band survey covering an area of ~0.8 deg^2. The images with completeness and
limiting magnitudes of J,H ~ 20.2 and ~ 21.5 mag were acquired ~9 yr apart
(proper motion precision of +/-6 mas/yr). J- and H-band data were complemented
with Z, K, and mid-infrared magnitudes up to 4.6 micron coming from UKIDSS,
WISE, and follow-up observations of our own. Pleiades member candidates were
selected to have proper motions compatible with that of the cluster, and colors
following the known Pleiades sequence in the interval J = 15.5-8.8 mag, and
Z_UKIDSS - J > 2.3 mag or Z nondetections for J > 18.8 mag. We found a neat
sequence of astrometric and photometric Pleiades substellar member candidates
in the intervals J = 15.5-21.2 mag and ~0.072-0.008 Msol. The faintest objects
show very red near- and mid-infrared colors exceeding those of field
high-gravity dwarfs by >0.5 mag. The Pleiades photometric sequence does not
show any color turn-over because of the presence of photospheric methane
absorption down to J = 20.3 mag, which is about 1 mag fainter than predicted by
the color-computed models. Pleiades brown dwarfs have a proper motion
dispersion of 6.4-7.5 mas/yr and are dynamically relaxed at the age of the
cluster. The Pleiades mass function extends down to the deuterium burning-mass
threshold, with a slope fairly similar to that of other young star clusters and
stellar associations.Comment: Accepted for publication in A&A. 16 page
The Evolution of L and T Dwarfs in Color-Magnitude Diagrams
We present new evolution sequences for very low mass stars, brown dwarfs and
giant planets and use them to explore a variety of influences on the evolution
of these objects. We compare our results with previous work and discuss the
causes of the differences and argue for the importance of the surface boundary
condition provided by atmosphere models including clouds.
The L- to T-type ultracool dwarf transition can be accommodated within the
Ackerman & Marley (2001) cloud model by varying the cloud sedimentation
parameter. We develop a simple model for the evolution across the L/T
transition. By combining the evolution calculation and our atmosphere models,
we generate colors and magnitudes of synthetic populations of ultracool dwarfs
in the field and in galactic clusters. We focus on near infrared color-
magnitude diagrams (CMDs) and on the nature of the ``second parameter'' that is
responsible for the scatter of colors along the Teff sequence. Variations in
metallicity and cloud parameters, unresolved binaries and possibly a relatively
young population all play a role in defining the spread of brown dwarfs along
the cooling sequence. We find that the transition from cloudy L dwarfs to
cloudless T dwarfs slows down the evolution and causes a pile up of substellar
objects in the transition region, in contradiction with previous studies. We
apply the same model to the Pleiades brown dwarf sequence. Taken at face value,
the Pleiades data suggest that the L/T transition occurs at lower Teff for
lower gravity objects. The simulated populations of brown dwarfs also reveal
that the phase of deuterium burning produces a distinctive feature in CMDs that
should be detectable in ~50-100 Myr old clusters.Comment: Accepted for publication in the ApJ. 52 pages including 20 figure
Intrinsic spectral blueshifts in rapidly rotating stars?
Spectroscopic radial velocities for several nearby open clusters suggest that
spectra of (especially earlier-type) rapidly rotating stars are systematically
blueshifted by 3 km/s or more, relative to the spectra of slowly rotating ones.
Comparisons with astrometrically determined radial motions in the Hyades
suggests this to be an absolute blueshift, relative to wavelengths naively
expected from stellar radial motion and gravitational redshift. Analogous
trends are seen also in most other clusters studied (Pleiades, Coma Berenices,
Praesepe, Alpha Persei, IC 2391, NGC 6475, IC 4665, NGC 1976 and NGC 2516).
Possible mechanisms are discussed, including photospheric convection, stellar
pulsation, meridional circulation, and shock-wave propagation, as well as
effects caused by template mismatch in determining wavelength displacements.
For early-type stars, a plausible mechanism is shock-wave propagation upward
through the photospheric line-forming regions. Such wavelength shifts thus
permit studies of certain types of stellar atmospheric dynamics and -
irrespective of their cause - may influence deduced open-cluster membership
(when selected from common velocity) and deduced cluster dynamics (some types
of stars might show fortuitous velocity patterns).Comment: Accepted by Astronomy & Astrophysics; 6 pages, 3 figure
Nitrogen Abundances and the Distance Moduli of the Pleiades and Hyades
Recent reanalyses of HIPPARCOS parallax data confirm a previously noted
discrepancy with the Pleiades distance modulus estimated from main-sequence
fitting in the color-magnitude diagram. One proposed explanation of this
distance modulus discrepancy is a Pleiades He abundance that is significantly
larger than the Hyades value. We suggest that, based on our theoretical and
observational understanding of Galactic chemical evolution, nitrogen abundances
may serve as a proxy for helium abundances of disk stars. Utilizing
high-resolution near-UV Keck/HIRES spectroscopy, we determine N abundances in
the Pleiades and Hyades dwarfs from NH features in the 3330 Ang region. While
our Hyades N abundances show a modest 0.2 dex trend over a 800 K Teff range, we
find the Pleiades N abundance (by number) is 0.13+/-0.05 dex lower than in the
Hyades for stars in a smaller overlapping Teff range around 6000 K; possible
systematic errors in the lower Pleiades N abundance result are estimated to be
at the <0.10 dex level. Our results indicate [N/Fe]=0 for both the Pleiades and
Hyades, consistent with the ratios exhibited by local Galactic disk field stars
in other studies. If N production is a reliable tracer of He production in the
disk, then our results suggest the Pleiades He abundance is no larger than that
in the Hyades. This finding is supported by the relative Pleiades-Hyades C, O,
and Fe abundances interpreted in the current context of Galactic chemical
evolution, and is resistant to the effects on our derived N abundances of a He
abundance difference like that needed to explain the Pleiades distance modulus
discrepancy. A physical explanation of the Pleiades distance modulus
discrepancy does not appear to be related to He abundance.Comment: Accepted for publication in the Publications of the Astronomical
Society of the Pacifi
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