Neighbours hiding in the Galactic plane - a new M/L dwarf candidate for the 8pc sample

AIMS: Using Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) data and previous optical and near-infrared sky surveys, we try to identify still missing stellar and substellar neighbours of the Sun. METHODS: When checking the brightest red WISE sources for proper motions and colours expected for nearby M and L dwarfs we also approached the thin Galactic plane. Astrometry (proper motion and parallax measurements) and the available photometry were used to give first estimates of the distance and type of nearby candidates. RESULTS: We have discovered WISE J072003.20$-$084651.2, an object with moderately high proper motion ($\mu$$\approx$120 mas/yr) and at low Galactic latitude ($b$$=$$+$2.3\degr), with similar brightness ($J$$\approx$10.6, $w2$$\approx$8.9) and colours ($I$$-$$J$$\approx$3.2, $J$$-$$K_s$$\approx$1.2, $w1$$-$$w2$$\approx$0.3) as the nearest known M-type brown dwarf LP 944-20. With a photometric classification as an M9$\pm$1 dwarf, its photometric distance lies in the range between about 5 and 7 pc, based on comparison with absolute magnitudes of LP 944-20 alone or of a sample of M8-L0 dwarfs.The slightly larger distance derived from our preliminary trigonometric parallax (7.0$\pm$1.9 pc) may indicate a close binary nature. The new neighbour is an excellent target for planet search and low-mass star/brown dwarf studies.Comment: published in Astronomy and Astrophysics, with Note added in proof concerning the new trigonometric parallax of LP 944-20 from Dieterich et al. (arXiv:1312.1736

Overlooked wide companions of nearby F stars

AIMS: We checked a sample of 545 F stars within 50 pc for wide companions using existing near-infrared and optical sky surveys. METHODS: Applying the common proper motion (CPM) criterion, we detected wide companion candidates with 6-120 arcsec angular separations by visual inspection of multi-epoch finder charts and by searching in proper motion catalogues. Final proper motions were measured by involving positional measurements from up to eleven surveys. Spectral types of red CPM companions were estimated from their absolute $J$-band magnitudes based on the Hipparcos distances of the primaries. RESULTS: In addition to about 100 known CPM objects, we found 19 new CPM companions and confirmed 31 previously known candidates. A few CPM objects are still considered as candidates according to their level of proper motion agreement. Among the new objects there are nine M0-M4, eight M5-M6, one $\approx$L3.5 dwarf (HD 3861B), and one white dwarf (WD) (HD 2726B), whereas we confirmed two K, 19 M0-M4, six M5-M6, two early-L dwarfs, and two DA WDs as CPM companions. In a few cases, previous spectral types were available that all agree well with our estimates. Two companions (HD 22879B and HD 49933B) are associated with moderately metal-poor Gaia benchmark stars. One doubtful CPM companion, spectroscopically classified as WD but found to be very bright ($J$$=$11.1) by others, should either be a very nearby foreground WD or a different kind of object associated with HD 165670.Comment: Research Note accepted for publication in Astronomy and Astrophysics, 8 pages (incl. Appendices and 3 figures

SSSPMJ0829-1309: A new nearby L dwarf detected in SuperCOSMOS Sky Surveys

The SuperCOSMOS Sky Surveys provide a complete coverage of the Southern sky in three passbands (photographic B_J, R and I) and at different epochs (Hambly et al. 2001a,b,c). These data are the basis for a new high proper motion survey which aims at finding extremely red nearby dwarf stars and brown dwarfs. One of the first candidates, which is relatively bright (I=16) but very red (R-I=2.8, B_J-R=3.6), was detected in the equatorial zone by its large proper motion of 0.56 arcsec/yr. Spectroscopic follow-up observations with the 2.2m telescope of the Calar Alto Observatory classified this object as L2 dwarf very similar to the first free-floating L dwarf Kelu1 also discovered in a proper motion survey by Ruiz et al. (1997). If we assume SSSPMJ0829-1309 to have the same luminosity as Kelu1, we get a distance estimate for the new L dwarf of about 12pc since it is about one magnitude brighter than Kelu1 in the SSS I and R bands. This makes SSSPMJ0829-1309 one of the nearest objects of its class, well suited for detailed investigations. We present a brief overview of all known nearby (d<20pc) southern L dwarfs and give first proper motion values for DENIS-PJ0255-47 and SDSSpJ1326-00 and an improved proper motion for LHS102B.Comment: 4 pages, 1 figure, accepted for publication in MNRAS Letter

WISEA J064750.85-154616.4: a new nearby L/T transition dwarf

Aims: Our aim is to detect and classify previously overlooked brown dwarfs in the solar neighbourhood. Methods: We performed a proper motion search among bright sources observed with the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) that are also seen in the Two Micron All Sky Survey (2MASS). Our candidates appear according to their red $J$$-$$K_s$ colours as nearby late-L dwarf candidates. Low-resolution near-infrared (NIR) classification spectroscopy in the $HK$ band allowed us to get spectroscopic distance and tangential velocity estimates. Results: We have discovered a new L9.5 dwarf, WISEA J064750.85-154616.4, at a spectroscopic distance of about 14 pc and with a tangential velocity of about 11 km/s, typical of the Galactic thin disc population. We have confirmed another recently found L/T transition object at about 10 pc, WISEA J140533.13+835030.7, which we classified as L8 (NIR).Comment: Research Note accepted for publication in Astronomy and Astrophysics, 5 pages, 3 figure

New nearby white dwarfs from Gaia DR1 TGAS and UCAC5/URAT

Using an accurate Gaia TGAS 25pc sample, nearly complete for GK stars, and selecting common proper motion (CPM) candidates from UCAC5, we search for new white dwarf (WD) companions around nearby stars with relatively small proper motions. For investigating known CPM systems in TGAS and for selecting CPM candidates in TGAS+UCAC5, we took into account the expected effect of orbital motion on the proper motion as well as the proper motion catalogue errors. Colour-magnitude diagrams (CMDs) $M_J/J-K_s$ and $M_G/G-J$ were used to verify CPM candidates from UCAC5. Assuming their common distance with a given TGAS star, we searched for candidates that occupied similar regions in the CMDs as the few known nearby WDs (4 in TGAS) and WD companions (3 in TGAS+UCAC5). CPM candidates with colours and absolute magnitudes corresponding neither to the main sequence nor to the WD sequence were considered as doubtful or subdwarf candidates. With a minimum proper motion of 60mas/yr, we selected three WD companion candidates, two of which are also confirmed by their significant parallaxes measured in URAT data, whereas the third may also be a chance alignment of a distant halo star with a nearby TGAS star (angular separation of about 465arcsec). One additional nearby WD candidate was found from its URAT parallax and $GJK_s$ photometry. With HD 166435 B orbiting a well-known G1 star at ~24.6pc with a projected physical separation of ~700AU, we discovered one of the hottest WDs, classified by us as DA2.0$\pm$0.2, in the solar neighbourhood. We also found TYC 3980-1081-1 B, a strong cool WD companion candidate around a recently identified new solar neighbour with a TGAS parallax corresponding to a distance of ~8.3pc and our photometric classification as ~M2 dwarf. This raises the question whether previous assumptions on the completeness of the WD sample to a distance of 13pc were correct.Comment: 9 pages, 6 figures, accepted for publication in Astronomy and Astrophysic

New ultracool dwarf neighbours within 20pc from Gaia DR2

The Gaia data release 2 (DR2) contains $>$6000 objects with parallaxes $(Plx+3\times{e\_Plx})>50$mas placing them within 20pc from the Sun. Since the expected numbers extrapolating the well-known 10pc census are much lower, nearby Gaia stars need a quality assessment. The 20pc sample of white dwarfs (WDs) had already been verified and completed with Gaia DR2. We aimed to check and complete the 20pc sample of ultracool dwarfs (UCDs) with spectral types $\gtrsim$M7 and given Gaia DR2 parallaxes. Dividing the Gaia DR2 20pc sample into subsamples of various astrometric and photometric quality, we studied their distribution on the sky, in the $M_G$ vs. $G$$-$$RP$ colour-magnitude diagram (CMD), and as a function of $G$ magnitude and total proper motion. After excluding 139 known WDs and 263 known UCDs from the CMD, we checked all remaining $\approx$3500 candidates with $M_G>14$mag (used to define UCDs in this study) for the correctness of their Gaia DR2 proper motions. For confirmed UCD candidates we estimated spectral types photometrically using Gaia and near-infrared absolute magnitudes and colours. We failed to confirm new WDs, but found 50 new UCD candidates not mentioned in three previous studies using Gaia DR2. They have relatively small proper motions and tangential velocities and are concentrated towards the Galactic plane. Half of them have spectral types in SIMBAD and/or previous non-Gaia distance estimates that placed them already within 20pc. For 20 of the 50 objects, we estimated photometric spectral types of M6-M6.5, slightly below the classical UCD spectral type limit. However, seven L4.5-L6.5, four L0-L1, five M8.5-M9.5, and three M7-M8 dwarfs can be considered as completely new UCDs discoveries within 20pc based on Gaia DR2. Four M6.5 and two L4.5 dwarfs have high membership probabilities (64%-99%) in the ARGUS, AB Doradus, or Carina Near young moving groups. (abbreviated)Comment: accepted for publication in Astronomy and Astrophysics, 15 pages, 3 tables, 10 figures (reduced in size