Mapping the Local Halo: Statistical Parallax Analysis of SDSS Low-Mass Subdwarfs

We present a statistical parallax study of nearly 2000 M subdwarfs with photometry and spectroscopy from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS). Statistical parallax analysis yields the mean absolute magnitudes, mean velocities, and velocity ellipsoids for homogenous samples of stars. We selected homogeneous groups of subdwarfs based on their photometric colors and spectral appearance. We examined the color–magnitude relations of low-mass subdwarfs and quantified their dependence on the newly refined metallicity parameter, ζ. We also developed a photometric metallicity parameter, δ(g − r), based on the g − r and r − z colors of low-mass stars and used it to select stars with similar metallicities. The kinematics of low-mass subdwarfs as a function of color and metallicity were also examined and compared to main-sequence M dwarfs. We find that the SDSS subdwarfs share similar kinematics to the inner halo and thick disk. The color–magnitude relations derived in this analysis will be a powerful tool for identifying and characterizing low-mass metal-poor subdwarfs in future surveys such as Gaia and LSST, making them important and plentiful tracers of the stellar halo

Hunting The Most Distant Stars in the Milky Way: Methods and Initial Results

We present a new catalog of 404 M giant candidates found in the UKIRT Infrared Deep Sky Survey (UKIDSS). The 2,400 deg$^2$ available in the UKIDSS Large Area Survey Data Release 8 resolve M giants through a volume four times larger than that of the entire Two Micron All Sky Survey. Combining near-infrared photometry with optical photometry and proper motions from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey yields an M giant candidate catalog with less M dwarf and quasar contamination than previous searches for similarly distant M giants. Extensive follow-up spectroscopy of this sample will yield the first map of our Galaxy's outermost reaches over a large area of sky. Our initial spectroscopic follow-up of $\sim$ 30 bright candidates yielded the positive identification of five M giants at distances $\sim 20-90$ kpc. Each of these confirmed M giants have positions and velocities consistent with the Sagittarius stream. The fainter M giant candidates in our sample have estimated photometric distances $\sim 200$ kpc (assuming $[Fe/H]$ = 0.0), but require further spectroscopic verification. The photometric distance estimates extend beyond the Milky Way's virial radius, and increase by $\sim 50\%$ for each 0.5 dex decrease in assumed $[Fe/H]$. Given the number of M giant candidates, initial selection efficiency, and volume surveyed, we loosely estimate that at least one additional Sagittarius-like accretion event could have contributed to the hierarchical build-up of the Milky Way's outer halo.Comment: 16 pages, 11 figures, emulateapj format. Accepted by A

The Most Distant Stars in the Milky Way

We report on the discovery of the most distant Milky Way (MW) stars known to date: ULAS J001535.72$+$015549.6 and ULAS J074417.48$+$253233.0. These stars were selected as M giant candidates based on their infrared and optical colors and lack of proper motions. We spectroscopically confirmed them as outer halo giants using the MMT/Red Channel spectrograph. Both stars have large estimated distances, with ULAS J001535.72$+$015549.6 at $274 \pm 74$ kpc and ULAS J074417.48$+$253233.0 at 238 $\pm$ 64 kpc, making them the first MW stars discovered beyond 200 kpc. ULAS J001535.72$+$015549.6 and ULAS J074417.48$+$253233.0 are both moving away from the Galactic center at $52 \pm 10$ km s$^{-1}$ and $24 \pm 10$ km s$^{-1}$, respectively. Using their distances and kinematics, we considered possible origins such as: tidal stripping from a dwarf galaxy, ejection from the MW's disk, or membership in an undetected dwarf galaxy. These M giants, along with two inner halo giants that were also confirmed during this campaign, are the first to map largely unexplored regions of our Galaxy's outer halo.Comment: Accepted and in print by ApJL. Seven pages, 2 figure

The Sloan Digital Sky Survey Data Release 7 Spectroscopic M Dwarf Catalog. II. Statistical Parallax Analysis

We present a statistical parallax analysis of low-mass dwarfs from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey. We calculate absolute r-band magnitudes (Mr ) as a function of color and spectral type and investigate changes in Mr with location in the Milky Way. We find that magnetically active M dwarfs are intrinsically brighter in Mr than their inactive counterparts at the same color or spectral type. Metallicity, as traced by the proxy ζ, also affects Mr , with metal-poor stars having fainter absolute magnitudes than higher metallicity M dwarfs at the same color or spectral type. Additionally, we measure the velocity ellipsoid and solar reflex motion for each subsample of M dwarfs. We find good agreement between our measured solar peculiar motion and previous results for similar populations, as well as some evidence for differing motions of early and late M-type populations in U and W velocities that cannot be attributed to asymmetric drift. The reflex solar motion and the velocity dispersions both show that younger populations, as traced by magnetic activity and location near the Galactic plane, have experienced less dynamical heating. We introduce a new parameter, the independent position altitude (IPA), to investigate populations as a function of vertical height from the Galactic plane. M dwarfs at all types exhibit an increase in velocity dispersion when analyzed in comparable IPA subgroups

The Sloan Digital Sky Survey Data Release 7 Spectroscopic M Dwarf Catalog III: The Spatial Dependence of Magnetic Activity in the Galaxy

We analyze the magnetic activity of 59,318 M dwarfs from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) Data Release 7. This analysis explores the spatial distribution of M dwarf activity as a function of both vertical distance from the Galactic plane (Z) and planar distance from the Galactic center (R). We confirm the established trends of decreasing magnetic activity (as measured by Hα emission) with increasing distance from the mid-plane of the disk and find evidence for a trend in Galactocentric radius. We measure a non-zero radial gradient in the activity fraction in our analysis of stars with spectral types dM3 and dM4. The activity fraction increases with R and can be explained by a decreasing mean stellar age with increasing distance from the Galactic center

The Brown Dwarf Kinematics Project (BDKP). II. Details on Nine Wide Common Proper Motion Very Low-Mass Companions to Nearby Stars

We report on nine wide common proper motion systems containing late-type M, L, or T companions. We confirm six previously reported companions, and identify three new systems. The ages of these systems are determined using diagnostics for both stellar primaries and low--mass secondaries and masses for the secondaries are inferred using evolutionary models. Of our three new discoveries, the M3+T6.5 pair G 204-39 and SDSS J1758+4633 has an age constrained to 0.5-1.5 Gyr making the secondary a potentially useful brown dwarf benchmark. The G5+L4 pair G 200-28 and SDSS J1416+5006 has a projected separation of ~25,000 AU making it one of the widest and lowest binding energy systems known to date. The system containing NLTT 2274 and SDSS J0041+1341 is an older M4+L0 (>4.5 Gyr) pair which shows Halpha activity in the secondary but not the primary making it a useful tracer of age/mass/activity trends. We find a resolved binary frequency for widely-separated (> 100 AU) low--mass companions (i.e. at least a triple system) which is at least twice the frequency found for the field ultracool dwarf population. The ratio of triples to binaries and quadruples to binaries is also high for this sample: 3:5 and 1:4, respectively, compared to 8-parsec sample values of 1:4 and 1:26. The additional components in these wide companion systems indicates a formation mechanism that requires a third or fourth component to maintain gravitational stability or facilitate the exchange of angular momentum. The binding energies for the nine multiples discussed in this text are among the lowest known for wide low-mass systems, suggesting that weakly bound, low--to--intermediate mass (0.2M_sun < M_tot <1.0M_sun) multiples can form and survive to exist in the field (1-8 Gyr).Comment: 62 pages, 12 figures, 11 Tables, AJ accepted for publicatio