Petrology and geochemistry of Devono-Carboniferous volcanic rocks in Nova Scotia

The Devono-Carboniferous volcanic rocks of Nova Scotia include Middle Devonian basalts from the McAras Brook Formation in the northern Antigonlsh Highlands (Ballantynes Cove and McAras Brook areas), Kiddle Devonian and Carboniferous basalts and rhyolites of the Fountain Lake Group In the Cobequid Highlands and the Upper Devonian-Lower Carboniferous basalts and rhyolites of the Fisset Brook Formation in Cape Breton Island. The volcanic rocks were extruded upon the continental crust in an lntraplate setting. The basalts are tholelitic except those from Ballantynes Cove which are alkaline. All these basalts could have been derived from a similar upper mantle source - garnet peridotite. Rhyolites were probably generated by crustal anatexis related to the ascending basaltic magma. The Devono-Carboniferous volcaniant is probably connected with rifting along faults bounding the Magadalen pull-apart basin. In the Cobequid Highlands, the volcanlsm appears to be spatially and temporally associated with plutonism. RÉSUMÉ Les roches volcaniquée Dévono-Carbonifères de la Nouvelle-Écosse comprennent: les basaltes de la formation McAras Brook (Dévonian moyen) dans la partie nord des hautes-terres d'Antigonlsh (régions de Ballantynes Cove et de McAras Brook); les basaltes et les rhyolites du groupe Fountain Lake (Dévonien moyen et Carbonifère) des monts Cobequid; et les basaltes et rhyolites (Dévonien supérieur-Carbonifère inférieur) de la formation Fisset Brook su l’ile du Cap-Breton. Les roches volcaniquée furent repandues à la surface de la croùte continentale dans un contexte intraplaque. Les basaltes sont tous tholèiltiques à l'exception de ceux de Ballantynes Cove qui sont alcallns. Tous ces basaltes pourralent provenir d'une même source située dans la partie supérieure de manteau terrestre - péridotite à grenat. Les rhyolites résultent probablement de l'anatexie de la croùte associée à la montée du magma basaltique. Le volcanisme Dévono-Carbonifère est probablement relié à une fissuration le long des failles qui encadrent le bassin de déchirement des Madeleines. Dans les monts Cobequid, le volcanisme semble associé de façon spatio-temporelle au plutonisine. [Traduit par le Journal

Discovery of a Visual T-Dwarf Triple System and Binarity at the L/T Transition

We present new high contrast imaging of 8 L/T transition brown dwarfs using the NIRC2 camera on the Keck II telescope. One of our targets, the T3.5 dwarf 2MASS J08381155 + 1511155, was resolved into a hierarchal triple with projected separations of 2.5+/-0.5 AU and 27+/-5 AU for the BC and A(BC) components respectively. Resolved OSIRIS spectroscopy of the A(BC) components confirm that all system members are T dwarfs. The system therefore constitutes the first triple T-dwarf system ever reported. Using resolved photometry to model the integrated-light spectrum, we infer spectral types of T3, T3, and T4.5 for the A, B, and C components respectively. The uniformly brighter primary has a bluer J-Ks color than the next faintest component, which may reflect a sensitive dependence of the L/T transition temperature on gravity, or alternatively divergent cloud properties amongst components. Relying on empirical trends and evolutionary models we infer a total system mass of 0.034-0.104 Msun for the BC components at ages of 0.3-3 Gyr, which would imply a period of 12-21 yr assuming the system semi-major axis to be similar to its projection. We also infer differences in effective temperatures and surface gravities between components of no more than ~150 K and ~0.1 dex. Given the similar physical properties of the components, the 2M0838+15 system provides a controlled sample for constraining the relative roles of effective temperature, surface gravity, and dust clouds in the poorly understood L/T transition regime. Combining our imaging survey results with previous work we find an observed binary fraction of 4/18 or 22_{-8}^{+10}% for unresolved spectral types of L9-T4 at separations >~0.1 arcsec. This translates into a volume-corrected frequency of 13^{-6}_{+7}%, which is similar to values of ~9-12% reported outside the transition. (ABRIDGED)Comment: Accepted for publication in the Astrophysical Journal. 23 pages, 12 figure

Two Extraordinary Substellar Binaries at the T/Y Transition and the Y-Band Fluxes of the Coolest Brown Dwarfs

Using Keck laser guide star adaptive optics imaging, we have found that the T9 dwarf WISE J1217+1626 and T8 dwarf WISE J1711+3500 are exceptional binaries, with unusually wide separations (~0.8 arcsec, 8-15 AU), large near-IR flux ratios (~2-3 mags), and small mass ratios (~0.5) compared to previously known field ultracool binaries. Keck/NIRSPEC H-band spectra give a spectral type of Y0 for WISE J1217+1626B, and photometric estimates suggest T9.5 for WISE J1711+3500B. The WISE J1217+1626AB system is very similar to the T9+Y0 binary CFBDSIR J1458+1013AB; these two systems are the coldest known substellar multiples, having secondary components of ~400 K and being planetary-mass binaries if their ages are <~1 Gyr. Both WISE J1217+1626B and CFBDSIR J1458+1013B have strikingly blue Y-J colors compared to previously known T dwarfs, including their T9 primaries. Combining all available data, we find that Y-J color drops precipitously between the very latest T dwarfs and the Y dwarfs. The fact that this is seen in (coeval, mono-metallicity) binaries demonstrates that the color drop arises from a change in temperature, not surface gravity or metallicity variations among the field population. Thus, the T/Y transition established by near-IR spectra coincides with a significant change in the ~1 micron fluxes of ultracool photospheres. One explanation is the depletion of potassium, whose broad absorption wings dominate the far-red optical spectra of T dwarfs. This large color change suggests that far-red data may be valuable for classifying objects of <~500 K.Comment: ApJ, in press (accepted Aug 1, 2012). Small cosmetic changes in version 2 to match final publicatio

Dynamical Mass of the Substellar Benchmark Binary HD 130948BC

(Abridged) We present Keck, HST, and Gemini-North observations of the L4+L4 binary HD 130948BC which together span ~70% of the binary's orbital period. We determine a total dynamical mass of 0.109+/-0.002 Msun (114+/-2 Mjup). The flux ratio is near unity, so both components are unambiguously substellar for any plausible mass ratio. An independent constraint on the age of the system is available from the G2V primary HD 130948A. The available indicators suggest an age comparable to the Hyades, with the most precise age being 0.79 Gyr based on gyrochronology. Therefore, HD 130948BC is now a unique benchmark among field L and T dwarfs, with a well-determined mass, luminosity, and age. We find that substellar theoretical models disagree with our observations. Both components of HD 130948BC appear to be overluminous by a factor of ~2-3x compared to evolutionary models. The age of the system would have to be notably younger than the gyro age to ameliorate the luminosity disagreement. However, regardless of the adopted age, evolutionary and atmospheric models give inconsistent results, indicating systematic errors in at least one class of models, possibly both. The masses of HD 130948BC happen to be very near the theoretical mass limit for lithium burning, and thus measuring the differential lithium depletion between B and C will provide a uniquely discriminating test of theoretical models. The potential underestimate of luminosities by evolutionary models would have wide-ranging implications; therefore, a more refined age estimate for HD 130948A is critically needed.Comment: ApJ, accepted. Note that astro-ph posting date coincides with the periastron passage for this binar

Resolved Spectroscopy of the T8.5 and Y0-0.5 Binary WISEPC J121756.91+162640.2AB

We present 0.9 - 2.5 um resolved spectra for the ultracool binary WISEPC J121756.91+162640.2AB. The system consists of a pair of brown dwarfs that straddles the currently defined T/Y spectral type boundary. We use synthetic spectra generated by model atmospheres that include chloride and sulfide clouds (Morley et al.), the distance to the system (Dupuy & Kraus), and the radius of each component based on evolutionary models (Saumon & Marley) to determine a probable range of physical properties for the binary. The effective temperature of the T8.5 primary is 550 - 600 K, and that of the Y0 - Y0.5 secondary is 450 K. The atmospheres of both components are either free of clouds or have extremely thin cloud layers. We find that the masses of the primary and secondary are 30 and 22 M_Jup, respectively, and that the age of the system is 4 - 8 Gyr. This age is consistent with astrometric measurements (Dupuy & Kraus) that show that the system has kinematics intermediate between those of the thin and thick disks of the Galaxy. An older age is also consistent with an indication by the H - K colors that the system is slightly metal-poor.Comment: 21 pages which include 6 Figures and 3 Tables. Accepted on November 8 2013 for publication in Ap

A Year in Review: The Carterette Series Webinars

This article covers the work done during 2023 by the Carterette Series Webinars planning committee. This includes information on the number of webinars we held, number of live attendees, a webinar the Carterette Series Webinars planning committee presented for ALA Core, and a sneak peek at some of the topics for next year’s series of webinars