166 research outputs found
Three-dimensional structure of the Upper Scorpius association with the Gaia first data release
Using new proper motion data from recently published catalogs, we revisit the
membership of previously identified members of the Upper Scorpius association.
We confirmed 750 of them as cluster members based on the convergent point
method, compute their kinematic parallaxes and combined them with Gaia
parallaxes to investigate the 3D structure and geometry of the association
using a robust covariance method. We find a mean distance of ~pc
and show that the morphology of the association defined by the brightest (and
most massive) stars yields a prolate ellipsoid with dimensions of
~pc, while the faintest cluster members define a more
elongated structure with dimensions of ~pc. We
suggest that the different properties of both populations is an imprint of the
star formation history in this region.Comment: 5 pages, 1 figure, MNRAS letters (in press
The relation between accretion rates and the initial mass function in hydrodynamical simulations of star formation
We analyse a hydrodynamical simulation of star formation. Sink particles in
the simulations which represent stars show episodic growth, which is presumably
accretion from a core that can be regularly replenished in response to the
fluctuating conditions in the local environment. The accretion rates follow
, as expected from accretion in a gas-dominated
potential, but with substantial variations over-laid on this. The growth times
follow an exponential distribution which is tapered at long times due to the
finite length of the simulation. The initial collapse masses have an
approximately lognormal distribution with already an onset of a power-law at
large masses. The sink particle mass function can be reproduced with a
non-linear stochastic process, with fluctuating accretion rates , a distribution of seed masses and a distribution of growth times. All
three factors contribute equally to the form of the final sink mass function.
We find that the upper power law tail of the IMF is unrelated to Bondi-Hoyle
accretion.Comment: 13 pages, 13 figures, MNRAS accepte
Substellar multiplicity in the Hyades cluster
We present the first high-angular resolution survey for multiple systems
among very low-mass stars and brown dwarfs in the Hyades open cluster. Using
the Keck\,II adaptive optics system, we observed a complete sample of 16
objects with estimated masses 0.1 Msun. We have identified three
close binaries with projected separation 0.11", or 5 AU. A
number of wide, mostly faint candidate companions are also detected in our
images, most of which are revealed as unrelated background sources based on
astrometric and/or photometric considerations. The derived multiplicity
frequency, 19+13/-6 % over the 2-350 AU range, and the rarity of systems wider
than 10 AU are both consistent with observations of field very low-mass
objects. In the limited 3-50 AU separation range, the companion frequency is
essentially constant from brown dwarfs to solar-type stars in the Hyades
cluster, which is also in line with our current knowledge for field stars.
Combining the binaries discovered in this surveys with those already known in
the Pleiades cluster reveals that very low-mass binaries in open clusters, as
well as in star-forming regions, are skewed toward lower mass ratios () than are their field counterparts, a result that
cannot be accounted for by selection effects. Although the possibility of
severe systematic errors in model-based mass estimates for very low-mass stars
cannot be completely excluded, it is unlikely to explain this difference. We
speculate that this trend indicates that surveys among very low-mass field
stars may have missed a substantial population of intermediate mass ratio
systems, implying that these systems are more common and more diverse than
previously thought.Comment: Accepted for publication in Astronomy & Astrophysics; 11 pages, 6
figure
A photometric and astrometric investigation of the brown dwarfs in Blanco 1
We present the results of a photometric and astrometric study of the low mass
stellar and substellar population of the young open cluster Blanco 1. We have
exploited J band data, obtained recently with the Wide Field Camera (WFCAM) on
the United Kingdom InfraRed Telescope (UKIRT), and 10 year old I and z band
optical imaging from CFH12k and Canada France Hawaii Telescope (CFHT), to
identify 44 candidate low mass stellar and substellar members, in an area of 2
sq. degrees, on the basis of their colours and proper motions. This sample
includes five sources which are newly discovered. We also confirm the lowest
mass candidate member of Blanco 1 unearthed so far (29MJup). We determine the
cluster mass function to have a slope of alpha=+0.93, assuming it to have a
power law form. This is high, but nearly consistent with previous studies of
the cluster (to within the errors), and also that of its much better studied
northern hemisphere analogue, the Pleiades.Comment: 8 Pages, 5 Figures, 2 Tables and 1 Appendix. Accepted for publication
in MNRA
Dynamical Analysis of Nearby ClustErs. Automated astrometry from the ground: precision proper motions over wide field
The kinematic properties of the different classes of objects in a given
association hold important clues about its member's history, and offer a unique
opportunity to test the predictions of the various models of stellar formation
and evolution. DANCe (standing for Dynamical Analysis of Nearby ClustErs) is a
survey program aimed at deriving a comprehensive and homogeneous census of the
stellar and substellar content of a number of nearby (<1kpc) young (<500Myr)
associations. Whenever possible, members will be identified based on their
kinematics properties, ensuring little contamination from background and
foreground sources. Otherwise, the dynamics of previously confirmed members
will be studied using the proper motion measurements. We present here the
method used to derive precise proper motion measurements, using the Pleiades
cluster as a test bench. Combining deep wide field multi-epoch panchromatic
images obtained at various obervatories over up to 14 years, we derive accurate
proper motions for the sources present in the field of the survey. The datasets
cover ~80 square degrees, centered around the Seven Sisters. Using new tools,
we have computed a catalog of 6116907 unique sources, including proper motion
measurements for 3577478 of them. The catalogue covers the magnitude range
between i=12~24mag, achieving a proper motion accuracy <1mas/yr for sources as
faint as i=22.5mag. We estimate that our final accuracy reaches 0.3mas/yr in
the best cases, depending on magnitude, observing history, and the presence of
reference extragalactic sources for the anchoring onto the ICRS.Comment: Accepted for publication in A&
Methane T-Dwarf Candidates in the Star Forming Region IC 348
IC 348 is a young (t3Myr) and nearby (d340pc) star forming region
in the Perseus molecular cloud. We performed a deep imaging survey using the
MEGACAM (z-band) and WIRCAM (JHK and narrowband CH on/off) wide-field
cameras on the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope. From the analysis of the
narrowband CH on/off deep images, we report 4 T-dwarf candidates, of
which 3 clearly lie within the limits of the IC 348 cluster. An upper limit on
the extinction was estimated for each candidate from colour-magnitude diagrams,
and found consistent with extinction maps of the cloud. Initial comparisons
with T-dwarf spectral models suggest these candidates have a spectral type
between T3 and T5, and perhaps later, potentially making these among the lowest
mass isolated objects detected in a young star forming region so far
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
Cluster membership probabilities from proper motions and multiwavelength photometric catalogues: I. Method and application to the Pleiades cluster
We present a new technique designed to take full advantage of the high
dimensionality (photometric, astrometric, temporal) of the DANCe survey to
derive self-consistent and robust membership probabilities of the Pleiades
cluster. We aim at developing a methodology to infer membership probabilities
to the Pleiades cluster from the DANCe multidimensional astro-photometric data
set in a consistent way throughout the entire derivation. The determination of
the membership probabilities has to be applicable to censored data and must
incorporate the measurement uncertainties into the inference procedure.
We use Bayes' theorem and a curvilinear forward model for the likelihood of
the measurements of cluster members in the colour-magnitude space, to infer
posterior membership probabilities. The distribution of the cluster members
proper motions and the distribution of contaminants in the full
multidimensional astro-photometric space is modelled with a
mixture-of-Gaussians likelihood. We analyse several representation spaces
composed of the proper motions plus a subset of the available magnitudes and
colour indices. We select two prominent representation spaces composed of
variables selected using feature relevance determination techniques based in
Random Forests, and analyse the resulting samples of high probability
candidates. We consistently find lists of high probability (p > 0.9975)
candidates with 1000 sources, 4 to 5 times more than obtained in the
most recent astro-photometric studies of the cluster.
The methodology presented here is ready for application in data sets that
include more dimensions, such as radial and/or rotational velocities, spectral
indices and variability.Comment: 14 pages, 4 figures, accepted by A&
The Seven Sisters DANCe. I. Empirical isochrones, Luminosity and Mass Functions of the Pleiades cluster
The DANCe survey provides photometric and astrometric (position and proper
motion) measurements for approximately 2 millions unique sources in a region
encompassing 80deg centered around the Pleiades cluster.
We aim at deriving a complete census of the Pleiades, and measure the mass
and luminosity function of the cluster. Using the probabilistic selection
method described in Sarro+2014, we identify high probability members in the
DANCe (14mag) and Tycho-2 (12mag) catalogues, and study the
properties of the cluster over the corresponding luminosity range. We find a
total of 2109 high probability members, of which 812 are new, making it the
most extensive and complete census of the cluster to date. The luminosity and
mass functions of the cluster are computed from the most massive members down
to 0.025M. The size, sensitivity and quality of the sample
result in the most precise luminosity and mass functions observed to date for a
cluster. Our census supersedes previous studies of the Pleiades cluster
populations, both in terms of sensitivity and accuracy.Comment: Language Edition Done. Final version to be published in A&A. Tables
will be published at CDS. Meanwhile, they can be requested to H. Bouy (hbouy
-at- cab . inta - csic . es
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