Diagnostics Of Disks Around Hot Stars

We discuss three different observational diagnostics related to disks around hot stars: absorption line determinations of rotational velocities of Be stars; polarization diagnostics of circumstellar disks; and X-ray line diagnostics of one specific magnetized hot star, theta(1) Ori C. Some common themes that emerge from these studies include (a) the benefits of having a specific physical model as a framework for interpreting diagnostic data; (b) the importance of combining several different types of observational diagnostics of the same objects; and (c) that while there is often the need to reinterpret traditional diagnostics in light of new theoretical advances, there are many new and powerful diagnostics that are, or will soon be, available for the study of disks around hot stars

The Coolest Isolated Brown Dwarf Candidate Member of TWA

We present two new late-type brown dwarf candidate members of the TW Hydrae association (TWA) : 2MASS J12074836-3900043 and 2MASS J12474428-3816464, which were found as part of the BANYAN all-sky survey (BASS) for brown dwarf members to nearby young associations. We obtained near-infrared (NIR) spectroscopy for both objects (NIR spectral types are respectively L1 and M9), as well as optical spectroscopy for J1207-3900 (optical spectral type is L0{\gamma}), and show that both display clear signs of low-gravity, and thus youth. We use the BANYAN II Bayesian inference tool to show that both objects are candidate members to TWA with a very low probability of being field contaminants, although the kinematics of J1247-3816 seem slightly at odds with that of other TWA members. J1207-3900 is currently the latest-type and the only isolated L-type candidate member of TWA. Measuring the distance and radial velocity of both objects is still required to claim them as bona fide members. Such late-type objects are predicted to have masses down to 11-15 MJup at the age of TWA, which makes them compelling targets to study atmospheric properties in a regime similar to that of currently known imaged extrasolar planets.Comment: 8 pages, 4 figures, accepted for publication in the ApJ Letter