- ID:
- ivo://CDS.VizieR/J/ApJS/231/15
- Title:
- Astrometric monitoring of ultracool dwarf binaries
- Short Name:
- J/ApJS/231/15
- Date:
- 21 Oct 2021
- Publisher:
- CDS
- Description:
- We present the full results of our decade-long astrometric monitoring programs targeting 31 ultracool binaries with component spectral types M7-T5. Joint analysis of resolved imaging from Keck Observatory and Hubble Space Telescope and unresolved astrometry from CFHT/WIRCam yields parallactic distances for all systems, robust orbit determinations for 23 systems, and photocenter orbits for 19 systems. As a result, we measure 38 precise individual masses spanning 30-115M_Jup_. We determine a model-independent substellar boundary that is ~70M_Jup_ in mass (~L4 in spectral type), and we validate Baraffe et al. evolutionary model predictions for the lithium-depletion boundary (60M_Jup_ at field ages). Assuming each binary is coeval, we test models of the substellar mass-luminosity relation and find that in the L/T transition, only the Saumon & Marley (2008ApJ...689.1327S) "hybrid" models accounting for cloud clearing match our data. We derive a precise, mass-calibrated spectral type-effective temperature relation covering 1100-2800K. Our masses enable a novel direct determination of the age distribution of field brown dwarfs spanning L4-T5 and 30-70M_Jup_. We determine a median age of 1.3Gyr, and our population synthesis modeling indicates our sample is consistent with a constant star formation history modulated by dynamical heating in the Galactic disk. We discover two triple-brown-dwarf systems, the first with directly measured masses and eccentricities. We examine the eccentricity distribution, carefully considering biases and completeness, and find that low-eccentricity orbits are significantly more common among ultracool binaries than solar-type binaries, possibly indicating the early influence of long-lived dissipative gas disks. Overall, this work represents a major advance in the empirical view of very low-mass stars and brown dwarfs.
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Search Results
- ID:
- ivo://CDS.VizieR/J/AJ/155/252
- Title:
- Astrometry & photometry of dwarf carbon stars
- Short Name:
- J/AJ/155/252
- Date:
- 21 Oct 2021
- Publisher:
- CDS
- Description:
- Parallaxes are presented for a sample of 20 nearby dwarf carbon stars. The inferred luminosities cover almost two orders of magnitude. Their absolute magnitudes and tangential velocities confirm prior expectations that some originate in the Galactic disk, although more than half of this sample are halo stars. Three stars are found to be astrometric binaries, and orbital elements are determined; their semimajor axes are 1-3 au, consistent with the size of an AGB mass-transfer donor star.
- ID:
- ivo://CDS.VizieR/J/AJ/132/891
- Title:
- Binaries among nearby L dwarfs
- Short Name:
- J/AJ/132/891
- Date:
- 21 Oct 2021
- Publisher:
- CDS
- Description:
- We have used the Near-Infrared Camera and Multi-Object Spectrometer NIC1 camera on the Hubble Space Telescope to obtain high angular resolution images of 52 ultracool dwarfs in the immediate solar neighborhood. Nine systems are resolved as binary, with component separations from 1.5 to 15AU. Based on current theoretical models and empirical bolometric corrections, all systems have components with similar luminosities and, consequently, high mass ratios, q>0.8. Limiting analysis to L dwarfs within 20pc, the observed binary fraction is 12%(9-19%). Applying Bayesian analysis to our data set, we derive a mass-ratio distribution that peaks strongly at unity. Modeling the semimajor axis distribution as a logarithmic Gaussian, the best fit is centered at log(a_0_)=0.8AU (a_0_~6.3AU), with a (logarithmic) width of +/-0.3. The current data are consistent with an overall binary frequency of ~24%.
- ID:
- ivo://CDS.VizieR/J/AJ/134/26
- Title:
- Binaries with white dwarf in 2MASS
- Short Name:
- J/AJ/134/26
- Date:
- 21 Oct 2021
- Publisher:
- CDS
- Description:
- We present the culmination of our near-infrared survey of the optically spectroscopically identified white dwarf stars from the McCook and Sion (1999ApJS..121....1M, see Cat. <III/235>) catalog, conducted using photometric data from the Two Micron All Sky Survey final All Sky Data Release. The color selection technique, which identifies candidate binaries containing a white dwarf and a low-mass stellar (or substellar) companion via their distinctive locus in the near-infrared color-color diagram, is demonstrated to be simple to apply and to yield candidates with a high rate of subsequent confirmation. We recover 105 confirmed binaries, and identify 27 firm candidates (19 of which are new to this work) and 21 tentative candidates (17 of which are new to this work) from the 2MASS data.
- ID:
- ivo://CDS.VizieR/J/MNRAS/428/2118
- Title:
- Binarity in planetary nebula central stars
- Short Name:
- J/MNRAS/428/2118
- Date:
- 21 Oct 2021
- Publisher:
- CDS
- Description:
- We still do not know what causes aspherical planetary nebula (PN) morphologies. A plausible hypothesis is that they are due to the presence of a close stellar or substellar companion. So far, only ~40 binary central stars of PN have been detected, almost all of them with such short periods that their binarity is revealed by photometric variability. Here we have endeavoured to discover binary central stars at any separation, thus determining the unbiased binary fraction of central stars of PN. This number, when compared to the binary fraction of the presumed parent population, can give a first handle on the origin of PN. By detecting the central stars in the I band we have searched for cool companions.
- ID:
- ivo://CDS.VizieR/J/ApJ/875/124
- Title:
- Binary red supergiants. II. B-type companions
- Short Name:
- J/ApJ/875/124
- Date:
- 20 Jan 2022 11:13:46
- Publisher:
- CDS
- Description:
- The percentage of massive main-sequence OB stars in binary systems is thought to be as high as 100%. However, very few Galactic binary red supergiants (RSGs) have been identified, despite the fact that these stars are the evolved descendants of OB stars. As shown in our recent paper, binary RSGs will likely have B-type companions, as dictated by stellar evolution considerations. Such a system will have a very unique photometric signature due to the shape of the spectral energy distribution. Using photometric cutoffs, it should therefore be possible to detect candidate RSG+B star binary systems. Here we present our spectroscopic follow-up observations of such candidates. Out of our initial list of 280 candidates in M31 and M33, we observed 149 and confirmed 63 as newly discovered RSG+B star binary systems. Additional spectra of four candidate systems in the Small Magellanic Cloud confirmed all of them as new RSG+B star binaries including the first known RSG+Be star system. By fitting BSTAR06 and MARCS model atmospheres to the newly obtained spectra, we place estimates on the temperatures and subtypes of both the B stars and RSGs. Overall, we have found 87 new RSG+B star binary systems in M31, M33 and the Small and Large Magellanic Clouds. Our future studies are aimed at determining the binary fraction of RSGs.
- ID:
- ivo://CDS.VizieR/J/AJ/161/160
- Title:
- BINOCS: NEWFIRM & IRAC IR photometry of clusters
- Short Name:
- J/AJ/161/160
- Date:
- 18 Jan 2022
- Publisher:
- CDS
- Description:
- We introduce a new binary detection technique, Binary INformation from Open Clusters using SEDs (binocs), which we show is able to determine reliable stellar multiplicity and masses over a much larger mass range than current approaches. This new technique determines accurate component masses of binary and single systems of the open clusters' main sequence by comparing observed magnitudes from multiple photometric filters to synthetic star spectral energy distributions (SEDs), allowing us to systematically probe the binary population for low-mass stars in clusters for eight well-studied open clusters. We provide new deep, infrared photometric catalogs (1.2-8.0 {mu}m) for the key open clusters NGC 1960 (M36), NGC 2099 (M37), NGC 2420, and NGC 2682 (M67), using observations from NOAO/NEWFIRM and Spitzer/IRAC. Using these deep multiwavelength catalogs, the binocs method is applied to these clusters to determine accurate component masses for unresolved cluster binaries. We explore binary fractions as a function of cluster age, Galactic location, and metallicity.
- ID:
- ivo://CDS.VizieR/J/MNRAS/472/4173
- Title:
- Bright white dwarfs for high-speed photometry
- Short Name:
- J/MNRAS/472/4173
- Date:
- 21 Oct 2021
- Publisher:
- CDS
- Description:
- The upcoming NASA Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) will obtain space-based uninterrupted light curves for a large sample of bright white dwarfs distributed across the entire sky, providing a very rich resource for asteroseismological studies and the search for transits from planetary debris. We have compiled an all-sky catalogue of ultraviolet, optical and infrared photometry as well as proper motions, which we propose as an essential tool for the preliminary identification and characterization of potential targets. We present data for 1864 known white dwarfs and 305 high-probability white dwarf candidates brighter than 17mag. We describe the spectroscopic follow-up of 135 stars, of which 82 are white dwarfs and 25 are hot subdwarfs. The new confirmed stars include six pulsating white dwarf candidates (ZZ Cetis), and nine white dwarf binaries with a cool main- sequence companion. We identify one star with a spectroscopic distance of only 25pc from the Sun. Around the time TESS is launched, we foresee that all white dwarfs in this sample will have trigonometric parallaxes measured by the ESA Gaia mission next year.
- ID:
- ivo://CDS.VizieR/J/A+A/579/A113
- Title:
- BR light curves of GJ1214b
- Short Name:
- J/A+A/579/A113
- Date:
- 21 Oct 2021
- Publisher:
- CDS
- Description:
- The atmospheric composition and vertical structure of the super-Earth GJ 1214b has been a subject of debate since its discovery in 2009. Recent studies have indicated that high-altitude clouds might mask the lower layers. However, some data points that were gathered at different times and facilities do not fit this picture, probably because of a combination of stellar activity and systematic errors. We observed two transits of GJ 1214b with the Large Binocular Camera, the dual-channel camera at the Large Binocular Telescope. For the first time, we simultaneously measured the relative planetary radius k=R_p_/R_*_ at blue and red optical wavelengths (B+R), thus constraining the Rayleigh scattering on GJ 1214b after correcting for stellar activity effects. To the same purpose, a long-term photometric follow-up of the host star was carried out with WiFSIP at STELLA, revealing a rotational period that is significantly longer than previously reported. Our new unbiased estimates of k yield a flat transmission spectrum extending to shorter wavelengths, thus confirming the cloudy atmosphere scenario for GJ 1214b.
- ID:
- ivo://CDS.VizieR/J/AJ/157/207
- Title:
- BVR_c_I_c_ light curve observations for VZ Lib
- Short Name:
- J/AJ/157/207
- Date:
- 21 Oct 2021
- Publisher:
- CDS
- Description:
- VZ Lib is a southern triple-lined system. By analyzing all available times of light minima, orbital period changes are revisited in detail. We discovered that the observed-calculated (O-C) curve shows a long-term period decrease at a rate of dP/dt=-2.25x10^-7^ days/yr, revealing a mass transfer from the more massive component to the less massive one. A cyclic variation covering more than three cycles was discovered, which was analyzed for the light-travel-time effect via the presence of the tertiary companion. The cyclic variation has a short period of 2.96 (+/-0.04) yr and a small semiamplitude of 0.0039 (+/-0.0004) days. The mass of the third body was determined to be M_3_sini_3_=0.52 (+/-0.07) M_{sun}_ and an orbital semimajor axis shorter than 1.93 (+/-0.31) au was obtained. Orbital properties of this close-in companion should provide valuable information on the formation of close binaries and stellar dynamical interaction. New complete BVR_c_I_c_ light curves of VZ Lib were obtained and modeled with the Wilson-Devinney code. The light curves show a small but significant O'Connell effect that was not detectable in 1981 and 2007 but in 2004, so we derived a new photometric solution with assuming spot and a third light in the system. It is found that the light-curve subtype changed from A-type to W-type, which was possibly caused by a dark spot on the massive component. Our photometric solutions are in agreement with the spectroscopic results given by previous authors.