- ID:
- ivo://CDS.VizieR/J/AJ/150/6
- Title:
- Solar neighborhood. XXXVI. VRI variability of M dwarfs
- Short Name:
- J/AJ/150/6
- Date:
- 21 Oct 2021
- Publisher:
- CDS
- Description:
- We present an analysis of long-term photometric variability for nearby red dwarf stars at optical wavelengths. The sample consists of 264 M dwarfs south of decl.=+30 with V-K=3.96-9.16 and M_V_~~10-20, corresponding to spectral types M2V-M8V, most of which are within 25pc. The stars have been observed in the VRI filters for ~4-14yr at the CTIO/SMARTS 0.9m telescope. Of the 238 red dwarfs within 25pc, we find that only ~8% are photometrically variable by at least 20mmag (~2%) in the VRI bands. Only four stars have been found to vary by more than 50mmag, including GJ 1207 at 8.6pc, which experienced a single extraordinary flare, and GJ 2006 A, TWA 8 A, and TWA 8 B, which are all young stars beyond 25pc linked to moving groups. We find that high variability at optical wavelengths over the long term can in fact be used to identify young stars. Overall, however, the fluxes of most red dwarfs at optical wavelengths are steady to a few percent over the long term. The low overall rate of photometric variability for red dwarfs is consistent with results found in previous work on similar stars on shorter timescales, with the body of work indicating that most red dwarfs are only mildly variable. As expected, we find that the degree of photometric variability is greater in the V band than in the R or I bands, but we do not find any obvious trends in variability over the long term with red dwarf luminosity or temperature. We highlight 17 stars that show long-term changes in brightness, sometimes because of flaring activity or spots, and sometimes because of stellar cycles similar to our Sun's solar cycle. Remarkably, two targets show brightnesses that monotonically increase (G 169-029) or decrease (WT 460AB) by several percent over a decade. We also provide long-term variability measurements for seven M dwarfs within 25pc that host exoplanets, none of which vary by more than 20mmag. Both as a population, and for the specific red dwarfs with exoplanets observed here, photometric variability is therefore often not a concern for planetary environments, at least at the optical wavelengths where they emit much of their light.
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- ID:
- ivo://CDS.VizieR/J/ApJ/785/159
- Title:
- SONYC census of substellar objects in Lupus 3
- Short Name:
- J/ApJ/785/159
- Date:
- 21 Oct 2021
- Publisher:
- CDS
- Description:
- SONYC -Substellar Objects in Nearby Young Clusters- is a survey program to investigate the frequency and properties of substellar objects in nearby star-forming regions. We present a new imaging and spectroscopic survey conducted in the young (~1 Myr), nearby (~200 pc) star-forming region Lupus 3. Deep optical and near-infrared images were obtained with MOSAIC-II and NEWFIRM at the CTIO 4 m telescope, covering ~1.4 deg^2^ on the sky. The i-band completeness limit of 20.3 mag is equivalent to 0.009-0.02 M_{sun}_, for A_V_<=5. Photometry and 11-12 yr baseline proper motions were used to select candidate low-mass members of Lupus 3. We performed a spectroscopic follow-up of 123 candidates, using VIMOS at the Very Large Telescope, and we identify 7 probable members, among which 4 have spectral type later than M6.0 and T_eff_<=3000 K, i.e., are probably substellar in nature. Two of the new probable members of Lupus 3 appear underluminous for their spectral class and exhibit emission line spectrum with strong H_{alpha}_ or forbidden lines associated with active accretion. We derive a relation between the spectral type and effective temperature: T_eff_=(4120+/-175)-(172+/-26)xSpT, where SpT refers to the M spectral subtype between 1 and 9. Combining our results with the previous works on Lupus 3, we show that the spectral type distribution is consistent with that in other star-forming regions, as well as the derived star-to-brown dwarf ratio of 2.0-3.3. We compile a census of all spectroscopically confirmed low-mass members with spectral type M0 or later.
- ID:
- ivo://CDS.VizieR/J/A+A/625/A17
- Title:
- SOPHIE data of Gliese 411
- Short Name:
- J/A+A/625/A17
- Date:
- 21 Oct 2021
- Publisher:
- CDS
- Description:
- Periodic radial velocity variations in the nearby M-dwarf star Gl 411 are reported, based on measurements with the SOPHIE spectrograph. Current data do not allow us to distinguish between a 12.95-day period and its one-day alias at 1.08-days, but favour the former slightly. The velocity variation has an amplitude of 1.6m/s, making this the lowest-amplitude signal detected with SOPHIE up to now. We have performed a detailed analysis of the significance of the signal and its origin, including extensive simulations with both uncorrelated and correlated noise, representing the signal induced by stellar activity. The signal is significantly detected, and the results from all tests point to its planetary origin. Additionally, the presence of an additional acceleration in the velocity time series is suggested by the current data. On the other hand, a previously reported signal with a period of 9.9 days, detected in HIRES velocities of this star, is not recovered in the SOPHIE data. An independent analysis of the HIRES dataset also fails to unveil the 9.9-day signal. If the 12.95-day period is the real one, the amplitude of the signal detected with SOPHIE implies the presence of a planet, called Gl 411 b, with a minimum mass of around three Earth masses, orbiting its star at a distance of 0.079AU. The planet receives about 3.5 times the insolation received by Earth, which implies an equilibrium temperature between 256 and 350K, and makes it too hot to be in the habitable zone. At a distance of only 2.5pc, Gl 411 b, is the third closest low-mass planet detected to date. Its proximity to Earth will permit probing its atmosphere with a combination of high-contrast imaging and high-dispersion spectroscopy in the next decade.
- ID:
- ivo://CDS.VizieR/J/AJ/155/215
- Title:
- Speckle interferometry of red dwarf stars
- Short Name:
- J/AJ/155/215
- Date:
- 21 Oct 2021
- Publisher:
- CDS
- Description:
- We report high-resolution optical speckle observations of 336 M dwarfs, which results in 113 measurements of the relative position of 80 systems and 256 other stars with no indications of duplicity. These are the first measurements for two of the systems. We also present the earliest measurements of relative position for 17 others. We include orbits for six of the systems, two revised and four reported for the first time. For one of the systems with a new orbit, G 161-7, we determine masses of 0.156+/-0.011 and 0.1175+/-0.0079 M_{sun}_ for the A and B components, respectively. All six of these new calculated orbits have short periods (between five and 38 years) and hold the promise of deriving accurate masses in the near future. For many other pairs we can establish their nature as physical or chance alignment, depending on their relative motion. Of the 80 systems, 32 have calculated orbits, 25 others are physical pairs, four are optical pairs, and 19 are currently unknown.
- ID:
- ivo://CDS.VizieR/J/A+A/496/191
- Title:
- Spectral analysis of 636 SDSS WD-M binaries
- Short Name:
- J/A+A/496/191
- Date:
- 21 Oct 2021
- Publisher:
- CDS
- Description:
- We present a catalog of 857 WD-M star binaries from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS), most of which were previously identified by other authors, and the results of our spectral analysis for a subsample of 636 WD-M composite spectra. Our automatic fitting procedure bases on a chi^2^ minimization technique, yielding a decomposition of each combined spectrum and a derivation of independent parameter estimates for both components. On the respective photometric data from the SDSS, we also find 41 optically resolved binaries. We also investigated the spectra for hydrogen and helium emission.
- ID:
- ivo://CDS.VizieR/J/A+A/624/A49
- Title:
- Spectra of Earth-like planets around M-dwarfs
- Short Name:
- J/A+A/624/A49
- Date:
- 21 Oct 2021
- Publisher:
- CDS
- Description:
- The characterisation of the atmosphere of exoplanets is one of the main goals of exoplanet science in the coming decades. We investigate the detectability of atmospheric spectral features of Earth-like planets in the habitable zone (HZ) around M dwarfs with the future James Webb Space Telescope (JWST). We used a coupled 1D climate-chemistry-model to simulate the influence of a range of observed and modelled M-dwarf spectra on Earth-like planets. The simulated atmospheres served as input for the calculation of the transmission spectra of the hypothetical planets, using a line-by-line spectral radiative transfer model. To investigate the spectroscopic detectability of absorption bands with JWST we further developed a signal- to-noise ratio (S/N) model and applied it to our transmission spectra. High abundances of methane (CH_4_) and water (H_2_O) in the atmosphere of Earth-like planets around mid to late M dwarfs increase the detectability of the corresponding spectral features compared to early M-dwarf planets. Increased temperatures in the middle atmosphere of mid- to late-type M-dwarf planets expand the atmosphere and further increase the detectability of absorption bands. To detect CH_4_, H_2_O, and carbon dioxide (CO_2_) in the atmosphere of an Earth-like planet around a mid to late M dwarf observing only one transit with JWST could be enough up to a distance of 4pc and less than ten transits up to a distance of 10pc. As a consequence of saturation limits of JWST and less pronounced absorption bands, the detection of spectral features of hypothetical Earth-like planets around most early M dwarfs would require more than ten transits. We identify 276 existing M dwarfs (including GJ 1132, TRAPPIST-1, GJ 1214, and LHS 1140) around which atmospheric absorption features of hypothetical Earth-like planets could be detected by co-adding just a few transits. The TESS satellite will likely find new transiting terrestrial planets within 15pc from the Earth. We show that using transmission spectroscopy, JWST could provide enough precision to be able to partly characterise the atmosphere of TESS findings with an Earth-like composition around mid to late M dwarfs.
- ID:
- ivo://CDS.VizieR/J/A+A/600/A19
- Title:
- Spectra of 28 nearby young late-M dwarfs
- Short Name:
- J/A+A/600/A19
- Date:
- 21 Oct 2021
- Publisher:
- CDS
- Description:
- Late M-type dwarfs in the solar neighborhood include a mixture of very low-mass stars and brown dwarfs that is difficult to disentangle due to the lack of constraints on their age, such as trigonometric parallax, lithium detection, and space velocity. We search for young brown dwarf candidates among a sample of 28 nearby late-M dwarfs with spectral types between M5.0 and M9.0, and we also search for debris disks around three of them. Based on theoretical models, we used the color I-J, the J-band absolute magnitude, and the detection of the LiI 6708{AA} doublet line as a strong constraint to estimate masses and ages of our targets. For the search of debris disks, we observed three targets at submillimeter wavelength of 850um. We report here the first clear detections of lithium absorption in four targets and a marginal detection in one target. Our mass estimates indicate that two of them are young brown dwarfs, two are young brown dwarf candidates, and one is a young very low-mass star. The closest young field brown dwarf in our sample at only ~15pc is an excellent benchmark for further studying physical properties of brown dwarfs in the range 100-150Myr. We did not detect any debris disks around three late-M dwarfs, and we estimated upper limits to the dust mass of debris disks around them.
- ID:
- ivo://CDS.VizieR/J/A+A/532/A69
- Title:
- Spectra of 6 SBS stars
- Short Name:
- J/A+A/532/A69
- Date:
- 21 Oct 2021
- Publisher:
- CDS
- Description:
- Faint high latitude carbon stars are rare objects commonly thought to be distant, luminous giants. For this reason they are often used to probe the structure of the Galactic halo; however more accurate investigation of photometric and spectroscopic surveys has revealed an increasing percentage of nearby objects with luminosities of main sequence stars. We analyzed new optical spectra and photometry and used astronomical databases available on the web, aiming at clarifying the nature of the ten carbon star candidates present in the General Catalogue of the Second Byurakan Survey. We verified that two stars are N-type giants already confirmed by other surveys. We found that four candidates are M-type stars and confirmed the carbon nature of the remaining four stars; the characteristics of three of them are consistent with an early CH giant type. The fourth candidate, SBS 1310+561 identified with a high proper motion star, is a rare type of dwarf carbon showing emission lines in its optical spectrum. We estimated absolute magnitudes and distances to the dwarf carbon and the CH stars. Our limited sample confirmed the increasing evidence that spectroscopy or colour alone are not conclusive luminosity discriminants for CH-type carbon stars.
- ID:
- ivo://CDS.VizieR/J/A+A/621/A6
- Title:
- Spectro-interferometric observation of SW Vir
- Short Name:
- J/A+A/621/A6
- Date:
- 21 Oct 2021
- Publisher:
- CDS
- Description:
- We present a near-infrared spectro-interferometric observation of the non-Mira-type, semiregular asymptotic giant branch star SW Vir. Our aim is to probe the physical properties of the outer atmosphere with spatially resolved data in individual molecular and atomic lines. We observed SW Vir in the spectral window between 2.28 and 2.31 micron with the near-infrared interferometric instrument AMBER at ESO's Very Large Telescope Interferometer (VLTI). Thanks to AMBER's high spatial resolution and high spectral resolution of 12000, the atmosphere of SW Vir has been spatially resolved not only in strong CO first overtone lines but also in weak molecular and atomic lines of H_2_O, CN, HF, Ti, Fe, Mg, and Ca. While the uniform-disk diameter of the star is 16.23+/-0.20mas in the continuum, it increases up to 22-24mas in the CO lines. Comparison with the MARCS photospheric models reveals that the star appears larger than predicted by the hydrostatic models not only in the CO lines but also even in the weak molecular and atomic lines. We found that this is primarily due to the H2O lines (but also possibly due to the HF and Ti lines) originating in the extended outer atmosphere. Although the H_2_O lines manifest themselves very little in the spatially unresolved spectrum, the individual rovibrational H_2_O lines from the outer atmosphere can be identified in the spectro-interferometric data. Our modeling suggests an H_2_O column density of 10^19^-10^20^cm^-2^ in the outer atmosphere extending out to ~2R*. Our study has revealed that the effects of the nonphotospheric outer atmosphere are present in the spectro-interferometric data not only in the strong CO first overtone lines but also in the weak molecular and atomic lines. Therefore, analyses of spatially unresolved spectra, such as for example analyses of the chemical composition, should be carried out with care even if the lines appear to be weak.
- ID:
- ivo://CDS.VizieR/J/MNRAS/489/2595
- Title:
- Spectro-interferometry of 8 evolved stars
- Short Name:
- J/MNRAS/489/2595
- Date:
- 21 Oct 2021
- Publisher:
- CDS
- Description:
- We determine the physical parameters of the outer atmosphere of a sample of eight evolved stars, including the red supergiant {alpha} Scorpii, the red giant branch stars {alpha} Bootis and {gamma} Crucis, the K giant {lambda} Velorum, the normal M giants BK Virginis and SW Virginis, and the Mira star W Hydrae (in two different luminosity phases) by spatially resolving the stars in the individual carbon monoxide (CO) first overtone lines. We used the Astronomical Multi-BEam combineR (AMBER) instrument at the Very Large Telescope Interferometer (VLTI), in high-resolution mode ({lambda}/{Delta}{lambda}~=12000) between 2.28 and 2.31um in the K band. The maximal angular resolution is 10mas, obtained using a triplet telescope configuration, with baselines from 7 to 48m. By using a numerical model of a molecular atmosphere in a spherical shells (MOLsphere), called PAMPERO (an acronym for the 'physical approach of molecular photospheric ejection at high angular resolution for evolved stars'), we add multiple extended CO layers above the photospheric MARCS model at an adequate spatial resolution. We use the differential visibilities and the spectrum to estimate the size (R) of the CO MOLsphere, its column density (NCO) and temperature (Tmol) distributions along the stellar radius. The combining of the {chi}^2^ minimization and a fine grid approach for uncertainty analysis leads to reasonable NCO and Tmol distributions along the stellar radius of the MOLsphere.
