62 research outputs found
Establishing the nature of companion candidates to X-ray emitting late B-type stars
The most favored interpretation for the detection of X-ray emission from late
B-type stars is that these stars have a yet undiscovered late-type companion
(or an unbound nearby late-type star) that produces the X-rays. Several faint
IR objects at (sub)-arcsecond separation from B-type stars have been uncovered
in our earlier adaptive optics imaging observations, and some of them have been
followed up with the high spatial resolution of the Chandra X-ray observatory,
pinpointing the X-ray emitter. However, firm conclusions on their nature
requires a search for spectroscopic signatures of youth. Here we report on our
recent ISAAC observations carried out in low resolution spectroscopic mode.
Equivalent widths have been used to obtain information on spectral types of the
companions. All eight X-ray emitting systems with late B-type primaries studied
contain dwarf like companions with spectral types later than A7. The only
system in the sample where the companion turns out to be of early spectral type
is not an X-ray source. These results are consistent with the assumption that
the observed X-ray emission from late B-type stars is produced by an active
pre-main sequence companion star.Comment: 6 pages, 2 figures, 3 tables, accepted for publication in MNRA
Near-IR imaging of T Cha: evidence for scattered-light disk structures at solar system scales
T Chamaeleontis is a young star surrounded by a transitional disk, and a
plausible candidate for ongoing planet formation. Recently, a substellar
companion candidate was reported within the disk gap of this star. However, its
existence remains controversial, with the counter-hypothesis that light from a
high inclination disk may also be consistent with the observed data. The aim of
this work is to investigate the origin of the observed closure phase signal to
determine if it is best explained by a compact companion. We observed T Cha in
the L and K s filters with sparse aperture masking, with 7 datasets covering a
period of 3 years. A consistent closure phase signal is recovered in all L and
K s datasets. Data were fit with a companion model and an inclined
circumstellar disk model based on known disk parameters: both were shown to
provide an adequate fit. However, the absence of expected relative motion for
an orbiting body over the 3-year time baseline spanned by the observations
rules out the companion model. Applying image reconstruction techniques to each
dataset reveals a stationary structure consistent with forward scattering from
the near edge of an inclined disk.Comment: 6 pages, 3 figures, accepted for publication in MNRAS Letter
An infrared imaging search for low-mass companions to members of the young nearby beta Pic and Tucana/Horologium associations
We present deep high dynamic range infrared images of young nearby stars in
the Tucana/Horologium and beta Pic associations, all ~ 10 to 35 Myrs young and
at ~10 to 60 pc distance. Such young nearby stars are well-suited for direct
imaging searches for brown dwarf and even planetary companions, because young
sub-stellar objects are still self-luminous due to contraction and accretion.
We performed our observations at the ESO 3.5m NTT with the normal infrared
imaging detector SofI and the MPE speckle camera Sharp-I. Three arc sec north
of GSC 8047-0232 in Horologium a promising brown dwarf companion candidate is
detected, which needs to be confirmed by proper motion and/or spectroscopy.
Several other faint companion candidates are already rejected by second epoch
imaging. Among 21 stars observed in Tucana/Horologium, there are not more than
one to five brown dwarf companions outside of 75 AU (1.5" at 50 pc); most
certainly only < 5 % of the Tuc/HorA stars have brown dwarf companions (13 to
78 Jupiter masses) outside of 75 AU. For the first time, we can report an upper
limit for the frequency of massive planets (~ 10 M_jup) at wide separations (~
100 AU) using a meaningfull and homogeneous sample: Of 11 stars observed
sufficiently deep in beta Pic (12 Myrs), not more than one has a massive planet
outside of ~ 100 AU, i.e. massive planets at large separations are rare (< 9
%).Comment: Astronomische Nachrichten, in pres
Rotation periods of Post-T Tauri stars in Lindroos systems
We present a rotational study of Post-T Tauri stars (PTTSs) in Lindroos
systems, defined as binaries with early type primaries on the main-sequence
(MS) and late-type secondaries on the pre-main-sequence (PMS) phase. The
importance of this study in comparison with previous ones is that the Lindroos
sample is not X-ray selected so we avoid a possible bias towards fast rotators.
In this preliminary study we have monitored eleven stars in the UBVRI bands
during two campaigns of ten consecutive nights each. Eight of the observed
PTTSs show periodic modulations in their lightcurves and the derived periods
range from 1.9d to 8.0d. The comparison of these results with theoretical
rotational tracks based on disk-star locking theory shows that star-disk
decoupling times of 1-20 Myr could reproduce the rotational properties of the
targets, assuming an initial rotation period of ~8d and a mass of 1 Mo. We have
studied the rotation-activity relations of Lindroos PTTSs and compared them
with those found in other groups of PMS and zero-age main-sequence (ZAMS) ~1 Mo
stars. The Lindroos sample displays activity-rotation relations very similar to
those found in TTSs. It contains a mixture of very active stars, with Lx/Lbol
ratios close to the saturation level of -3, and less active (unsaturated)
stars. This could be the result of different star-disk decoupling times. Future
monitoring of a larger and unbiased sample of PTTS will be important to confirm
the significance of these results
High resolution observations of the outer disk around T Cha: the view from ALMA
T Cha is a young star surrounded by a transitional disk with signatures of
planet formation. We have obtained high-resolution and high-sensitivity ALMA
observations of T Cha in the --, --, and
-- emission lines to reveal the spatial distribution of the
gaseous disk around the star. In order to study the dust within the disk we
have also obtained continuum images at 850m from the line-free channels.
We have spatially resolved the outer disk around T Cha. Using the CO(3-2)
emission we derive a radius of 230 AU. We also report the detection of
the CO(3-2) and the CS(7-8) molecular emissions, which show smaller
radii than the CO(3-2) detection. The continuum observations at 850m allow
the spatial resolution of the dusty disk, which shows two emission bumps
separated by 40AU, consistent with the presence of a dust gap in the
inner regions of the disk, and an outer radius of 80AU. Therefore, T Cha
is surrounded by a compact dusty disk and a larger and more diffuse gaseous
disk, as previously observed in other young stars. The continuum intensity
profiles are different at both sides of the disk suggesting possible dust
asymmetries. We derive an inclination of i(deg)=675, and a position angle
of PA (deg)= 1136, for both the gas and dust disks. The comparison of the
ALMA data with radiative transfer models shows that the gas and dust components
can only be simultaneously reproduced when we include a tapered edge
prescription for the surface density profile. The best model suggests that most
of the disk mass is placed within a radius of 50AU. Finally, we derive a
dynamical mass for the central object of =1.50.2M,
comparable to the one estimated with evolutionary models for an age of
10Myr.Comment: 5 pages, 5 figures, accepted for publication in A&A Letter
The Seven Sisters DANCe III: Projected spatial distribution
Methods. We compute Bayesian evidences and Bayes Factors for a set of
variations of the classical radial models by King (1962), Elson et al. (1987)
and Lauer et al. (1995). The variations incorporate different degrees of model
freedom and complexity, amongst which we include biaxial (elliptical) symmetry,
and luminosity segregation. As a by-product of the model comparison, we obtain
posterior distributions and maximum a posteriori estimates for each set of
model parameters. Results. We find that the model comparison results depend on
the spatial extent of the region used for the analysis. For a circle of 11.5
parsecs around the cluster centre (the most homogeneous and complete region),
we find no compelling reason to abandon Kings model, although the Generalised
King model, introduced in this work, has slightly better fitting properties.
Furthermore, we find strong evidence against radially symmetric models when
compared to the elliptic extensions. Finally, we find that including mass
segregation in the form of luminosity segregation in the J band, is strongly
supported in all our models. Conclusions. We have put the question of the
projected spatial distribution of the Pleiades cluster on a solid probabilistic
framework, and inferred its properties using the most exhaustive and least
contaminated list of Pleiades candidate members available to date. Our results
suggest however that this sample may still lack about 20% of the expected
number of cluster members. Therefore, this study should be revised when the
completeness and homogeneity of the data can be extended beyond the 11.5
parsecs limit. Such study will allow a more precise determination of the
Pleiades spatial distribution, its tidal radius, ellipticity, number of objects
and total mass.Comment: 39 pages, 31 figure
A submillimeter search for pre- and proto-brown dwarfs in Chamaeleon II
Context. Chamaeleon II molecular cloud is an active star forming region that
offers an excellent opportunity for studying the formation of brown dwarfs in
the southern hemisphere. Aims. Our aims are to identify a population of pre-
and proto- brown dwarfs (5 sigma mass limit threshold of ~0.015 Msun) and
provide information on the formation mechanisms of substellar objects. Methods.
We performed high sensitivity observations at 870 microns using the LABOCA
bolometer at the APEX telescope towards an active star forming region in
Chamaeleon II. The data are complemented with an extensive multiwavelength
catalogue of sources from the optical to the far-infrared to study the nature
of the LABOCA detections. Results. We detect fifteen cores at 870 microns, and
eleven of them show masses in the substellar regime. The most intense objects
in the surveyed field correspond to the submillimeter counterparts of the well
known young stellar objects DK Cha and IRAS 12500-7658. We identify a possible
proto-brown dwarf candidate (ChaII-APEX-L) with IRAC emission at 3.6 and 4.5
microns. Conclusions. Our analysis indicates that most of the spatially
resolved cores are transient, and that the point-like starless cores in the
sub-stellar regime (with masses between 0.016 Msun and 0.066 Msun) could be
pre-brown dwarfs cores gravitationally unstable if they have radii smaller than
220 AU to 907 AU (1.2" to 5" at 178 pc) respectively for different masses. ALMA
observations will be the key to reveal the energetic state of these pre-brown
dwarfs candidates.Comment: 11 pages, 6 figure
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