We present the results of a search for companions to young brown dwarfs in
the Taurus and Chamaeleon I star forming regions (1/2-3 Myr). We have used
WFPC2 on board HST to obtain F791W and F850LP images of 47 members of these
regions that have spectral types of M6-L0 (0.01-0.1 Msun). An additional
late-type member of Taurus, FU Tau (M7.25+M9.25), was also observed with
adaptive optics at Keck Observatory. We have applied PSF subtraction to the
primaries and have searched the resulting images for objects that have colors
and magnitudes that are indicative of young low-mass objects. Through this
process, we have identified promising candidate companions to 2MASS
J04414489+2301513 (rho=0.105"/15 AU), 2MASS J04221332+1934392 (rho=0.05"/7 AU),
and ISO 217 (rho=0.03"/5 AU). We reported the discovery of the first candidate
in a previous study, showing that it has a similar proper motion as the primary
through a comparison of astrometry measured with WFPC2 and Gemini adaptive
optics. We have collected an additional epoch of data with Gemini that further
supports that result. By combining our survey with previous high-resolution
imaging in Taurus, Chamaeleon, and Upper Sco (10 Myr), we measure binary
fractions of 14/93 = 0.15+0.05/-0.03 for M4-M6 (0.1-0.3 Msun) and 4/108 =
0.04+0.03/-0.01 for >M6 (10 AU. Given the youth
and low density of these three regions, the lower binary fraction at later
types is probably primordial rather than due to dynamical interactions among
association members. The widest low-mass binaries (>100 AU) also appear to be
more common in Taurus and Chamaeleon than in the field, which suggests that the
widest low-mass binaries are disrupted by dynamical interactions at >10 Myr, or
that field brown dwarfs have been born predominantly in denser clusters where
wide systems are disrupted or inhibited from forming.Comment: Astrophysical Journal, in pres
