105 research outputs found
A Survey for Spectroscopic Binaries Among Very Low-Mass Stars
We report on the results of a survey for radial velocity variability in a
heterogeneous sample of very low-mass stars and brown dwarfs. One
distinguishing characteristic of the survey is its timespan, which allows an
overlap between spectroscopic binaries and those which can be found by high
angular-resolution imaging. We are able to place a new constraint on the total
binary fraction in these objects, which suggests that they are more likely the
result of extending the same processes at work at higher masses into this mass
range, rather than a distinct mode of formation. Our basic result is that there
are out of 53, or % spectroscopic binaries in the
separation range 0-6 AU, nearly as many as resolved binaries. This leads to an
estimate of an upper limit of % for the binary fraction of VLM
objects (it is an upper limit because of the possible overlap between the
spectroscopic and resolved populations). A reasonable estimate for the very
low-mass binary fraction is %. We consider several possible separation
and frequency distributions, including the same one as found for GK stars, a
compressed version of that, a version of the compressed distribution truncated
at 15 AU, and a theoretical distribution which considers the evaporation of
small-N clusters. We conclude that the latter two bracket the observations,
which may mean that these systems form with intrinsically smaller separations
due to their smaller mass, and then are truncated due to their smaller binding
energy. We do not find support for the ``ejection hypothesis'' as their
dominant mode of formation, particularly in view of the similarity in the total
binary fraction compared with slightly more massive stars, and the difficulty
this mechanism has in producing numerous binary systems.Comment: 36 pages, accepted for publication in AJ, abstract shortened for
arXiv.or
The T Tauri Phase Down to Nearly Planetary Masses: Echelle Spectra of 82 Very Low Mass Stars and Brown Dwarfs
Using the largest high-resolution spectroscopic sample to date of young, very
low mass stars (VLMS) and brown dwarfs (BDs), we investigate disk accretion in
objects ranging from just above the hydrogen-burning limit all the way to
nearly planetary masses. Our 82 targets span spectral types from M5 to M9.5, or
masses from 0.15 Msun down to ~15 Jupiters. They are confirmed members of the
rho Oph, Taurus, Cha I, IC 348, R CrA, Upper Sco and TW Hydrae regions, with
ages = M6.5). We
find that: (1) classical T Tauri-like disk-accretion persists in the BD domain
down to nearly the deuterium-burning limit; (2) in addition to H-alpha,
permitted emission lines of CaII, OI and HeI are also good accretion
indicators, as in CTTs; (3) the CaII 8662A flux is an excellent quantitative
measure of the accretion rate (Mdot) in VLMS and BDs(as in CTTs); (4) Mdot
diminishes as M^2 -- our measurements support previous findings of this
correlation, and extend it to the entire range of sub-stellar masses; (5) the
accretor fraction among VLMS and BDs decreases substantially with age, as in
higher-mass stars; (6) at any given age, the VLMS and BD accretor fraction is
comparable to that in higher-mass stars; and (7) a number of sources with IR
disk excesses do not evince measurable accretion, with the incidence of such a
mismatch increasing with age: this implies that disks in the low mass regime
can persist beyond the main accretion phase, and parallels the transition from
the classical to post-T Tauri stage in more massive stars. These strong
similarities at young ages, between higher-mass stars and low-mass bodies close
to and below the hydrogen-burning limit, are consistent with a common formation
mechanism in the two mass regimes. (abridged)Comment: 64 pages, 7 figures. ApJ accepte
Multiplicity of Nearby Free-floating Ultra-cool Dwarfs: a HST-WFPC2 search for companions
We present HST/WFPC2 observations of a sample of 134 ultra-cool objects
(spectral types later than M7) coming from the DENIS, 2MASS and SDSS surveys,
with distances estimated to range from 7 pc to 105 pc. Fifteen new ultra-cool
binary candidates are reported here. Eleven known binaries are confirmed and
orbital motion is detected in some of them. We estimate that the closest binary
systems in this sample have periods between 5 and 20 years, and thus dynamical
masses will be derived in the near future. For the calculation of binary
frequency we restrict ourselves to systems with distances less than 20 pc.
After correction of the binaries bias, we find a ratio of visual binaries (at
the HST limit of detection) of around 10%, and that ~15% of the 26 objects
within 20 parsecs are binary systems with separations between 1 and 8 A.U. The
observed frequency of ultra-cool binaries is similar than that of binaries with
G-type primaries in the separation range from 2.1 A.U. to 140 A.U. There is
also a clear deficit of ultra-cool binaries with separations greater than 15
A.U., and a possible tendency for the binaries to have mass ratios near unity.
Most systems have indeed visual and near-infrared brightness ratios between 1
and 0.3. We discuss our results in the framework of current scenarios for the
formation and evolution of free-floating brown dwarfs.Comment: 67 pages, 14 figures, Accepted for publication in AJ, September 2003.
First submission to AJ: august 2002, 5 submission
PPl 15: The First Brown Dwarf Spectroscopic Binary
PPl 15 is the first object to have been confirmed as a brown dwarf by the
lithium test (in 1995), though its inferred mass was very close to the
substellar limit. It is a member of the Pleiades open cluster. Its position in
a cluster color-magnitude diagram suggested that it might be binary, and
preliminary indications that it is a double-lined spectroscopic binary were
reported by us in 1997. Here we report on the results of a consecutive week of
Keck HIRES observations of this system, which yield its orbit. It has a period
of about 5.8 days, and an eccentricity of 0.4+/-0.05. The rotation of the stars
is slow for this class of objects. Because the system luminosity is divided
between 2 objects with a mass ratio of 0.85, this renders each of them an
incontrovertible brown dwarf, with masses between 60-70 jupiters. We show that
component B is a little redder than A by studying their wavelength-dependent
line ratios, and that this variation is compatible with the mass ratio. We
confirm that the system has lithium, but cannot support the original conclusion
that it is depleted (which would be surprising, given the new masses). This is
a system of very close objects which, if they had combined, would have produced
a low mass star. We discuss the implications of this discovery for the theories
of binary formation and formation of very low mass objects.Comment: Latex, 18 pages, 4 figures, submitted to Astron.
Photometric Variability in Kepler Target Stars: The Sun Among Stars -- A First Look
The Kepler mission provides an exciting opportunity to study the lightcurves
of stars with unprecedented precision and continuity of coverage. This is the
first look at a large sample of stars with photometric data of a quality that
has heretofore been only available for our Sun. It provides the first
opportunity to compare the irradiance variations of our Sun to a large cohort
of stars ranging from vary similar to rather different stellar properties, at a
wide variety of ages. Although Kepler data is in an early phase of maturity,
and we only analyze the first month of coverage, it is sufficient to garner the
first meaningful measurements of our Sun's variability in the context of a
large cohort of main sequence stars in the solar neighborhood. We find that
nearly half of the full sample is more active than the active Sun, although
most of them are not more than twice as active. The active fraction is closer
to a third for the stars most similar to the Sun, and rises to well more than
half for stars cooler than mid K spectral types.Comment: 13 pages, 4 figures, accepted to ApJ Letter
Very Low Mass Stars and Brown Dwarfs in Taurus-Auriga
We present high resolution optical spectra obtained with the HIRES
spectrograph on the Keck I telescope of low mass T Tauri stars and brown dwarfs
(LMTTs) in Taurus-Auriga. Of particular interest is the previously classified
"continuum T Tauri star" GM Tau, which has a spectral type of M6.5 and a mass
just below the stellar/substellar boundary. None of the LMTTs in Taurus are
rapidly rotating (vsini < 30 km/s), unlike low mass objects in Orion. Many of
the slowly rotating, non-accreting stars and brown dwarfs exhibit prominent
H-alpha emission (EWs of 3 - 36 A), indicative of active chromospheres. We
demonstrate empirically that the full-width at 10% of the H-alpha emission
profile peak is a more practical and possibly more accurate indicator of
accretion than either the equivalent width of H-alpha or optical veiling:
10%-widths > 270 km/s are classical T Tauri stars (i.e. accreting), independent
of stellar spectral type. Although LMTTs can have accretion rates comparable to
that of more typical, higher-mass T Tauri stars (e.g. K7-M0), the average mass
accretion rate appears to decrease with decreasing mass. The diminished
frequency of accretion disks for LMTTs, in conjunction with their lower, on
average, mass accretion rates, implies that they are formed with less massive
disks than higher-mass T Tauri stars. The radial velocities, circumstellar
properties and known binaries do not support the suggestion that many of the
lowest mass members of Taurus have been ejected from higher stellar density
regions within the cloud. Instead, LMTTs appear to have formed and are evolving
in the same way as higher-mass T Tauri stars, but with smaller disks and
shorter disk lifetimes.Comment: 27 pages, plus 8 figures, accepted for publication in Ap
Rotation and Activity in Mid-M to L Dwarfs
We analyze rotation velocities and chromospheric (H-alpha) activity, derived
from multi-year, high-resolution spectra, in 56 mid-M to L dwarfs. Rotational
velocities are found to increase from mid-M to L. This is consistent with a
lengthening of spin-down timescale with later type, though in the L types the
trend may also be a function of stellar age. From M5 to M8.5, a saturation-type
rotation-activity relation is seen, similar to that in earlier types. However,
the saturation velocity in our case is much higher, at about 12 km/s. A sharp
drop in activity is observed at about M9, with later types showing little or no
H-alpha emission, in spite of rapid rotation. This may be due to the very high
resistivities in the predominantly neutral atmospheres of these cool objects.Comment: 7 pages, 4 figures, to be published in proceedings of 'Cool Stars and
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