Katelyn N. Allers

Young, Low-Mass Brown Dwarfs with Mid-Infrared Excesses

We have combined new I, J, H, and Ks imaging of portions of the Chamaeleon II, Lupus I, and Ophiuchus star-forming clouds with 3.6-24 ?m imaging from the Spitzer legacy program From Molecular Cores to Planet-Forming Disks to identify a sample of 19 young stars, brown dwarfs, and sub-brown dwarfs showing mid-infrared excess emission. The resulting sample includes sources with luminosities of 0.5 > log(L*/L?) > -3.1. Six of the more luminous sources in our sample have been previously identified by other surveys for young stars and brown dwarfs. Five of the sources in our sample have nominal masses that are at or below the deuterium-burning limit (12MJ). Over three decades in luminosity, our sources have an approximately constant ratio of excess to stellar luminosity. We compare our observed spectral energy distributions (SEDs) to theoretical models of a central source with a passive irradiated circumstellar disk and test the effects of disk inclination, disk flaring, and the size of the inner disk hole on the strength/shape of the excess. The observed SEDs of all but one of our sources are well fitted by models of flared and/or flat disks.

A stellar census of the tucana-horologium moving group

We report the selection and spectroscopic confirmation of 129 new late-type (SpT = K3-M6) members of the Tucana-Horologium moving group, a nearby (d ~ 40 pc), young (τ ~ 40 Myr) population of comoving stars. We also report observations for 13 of the 17 known Tuc-Hor members in this spectral type range, and that 62 additional candidates are likely to be unassociated field stars; the confirmation frequency for new candidates is therefore 129/191 = 67%. We have used radial velocities, Hα emission, and Li6708 absorption to distinguish between contaminants and bona fide members. Our expanded census of Tuc-Hor increases the known population by a factor of ~3 in total and by a factor of ~8 for members with SpT ≥ K3, but even so, the K-M dwarf population of Tuc-Hor is still markedly incomplete. Our expanded census allows for a much more detailed study of Tuc-Hor than was previously feasible. The spatial distribution of members appears to trace a two-dimensional sheet, with a broad distribution in X and Y, but a very narrow distribution (±5 pc) in Z. The corresponding velocity distribution is very small, with a scatter of ±1.1 km s–1 about the mean UVW velocity for stars spanning the entire 50 pc extent of Tuc-Hor. We also show that the isochronal age (τ ~ 20-30 Myr) and the lithium depletion boundary age (τ ~ 40 Myr) disagree, following the trend in other pre-main-sequence populations for isochrones to yield systematically younger ages. The Hα emission line strength follows a trend of increasing equivalent width with later spectral type, as is seen for young clusters. We find that moving group members have been depleted of measurable lithium for spectral types of K7.0-M4.5. None of our targets have significant infrared excesses in the WISE W3 band, yielding an upper limit on warm debris disks of F 95% completeness for τ ~ 40 Myr populations with GALEX data available.

Ophiuchus 1622–2405: Not a Planetary-Mass Binary

We present an analysis of the mass and age of the young low-mass binary Oph 1622-2405. Using resolved optical spectroscopy of the binary, we measure spectral types of M7.25 ± 0.25 and M8.75 ± 0.25 for the A and B components, respectively. We show that our spectra are inconsistent with the spectral types of M9 and M9.5-L0 from Jayawardhana & Ivanov and M9 ± 0.5 and M9.5 ± 0.5 from Close and coworkers. Based on our spectral types and the theoretical evolutionary models of Chabrier and Baraffe, we estimate masses of ~0.055 and ~0.019 M_⊙ for Oph 1622-2405A and B, which are significantly higher than the values of 0.013 and 0.007 M_⊙ derived by Jayawardhana & Ivanov and above the range of masses observed for extrasolar planets (M ≾ 0.015 M_⊙). Planet-like mass estimates are further contradicted by our demonstration that Oph 1622-2405A is only slightly later (by 0.5 subclass) than the composite of the young eclipsing binary brown dwarf 2M 0535-0546, whose components have dynamical masses of 0.034 and 0.054 M_⊙. To constrain the age of Oph 1622-2405, we compare the strengths of gravity-sensitive absorption lines in optical and near-infrared spectra of the primary to lines in field dwarfs (τ > 1 Gyr) and members of Taurus (τ ~ 1 Myr) and Upper Scorpius (τ ~ 5 Myr). The line strengths for Oph 1622-2405A are inconsistent with membership in Ophiuchus (τ < 1 Myr) and instead indicate an age similar to that of Upper Sco, which is in agreement with a similar analysis performed by Close and coworkers. We conclude that Oph 1622-2405 is part of an older population in Sco-Cen, perhaps Upper Sco itself.

THE HAWAII INFRARED PARALLAX PROGRAM. II. YOUNG ULTRACOOL FIELD DWARFS

(Abridged) We present a large, uniform analysis of young (~10-150 Myr) ultracool dwarfs, based on new high-precision IR parallaxes for 68 objects. We find that low-gravity (VL-G) late-M and L dwarfs form a continuous sequence in IR color-magnitude diagrams, separate from field objects and current theoretical models. VL-G objects also appear distinct from young substellar (brown dwarf and exoplanet) companions, suggesting the two populations have a different range of physical properties. In contrast, at the L/T transition, young, old, and peculiar objects all span a narrow range in near-IR absolute magnitudes. At a given spectral type, the IR absolute magnitudes of young objects can be offset from ordinary field dwarfs, with the largest offsets occurring in the Y and J bands for late-M dwarfs (brighter than the field) and mid/late-L dwarfs (fainter than the field). Overall, low-gravity (VL-G) objects have the most uniform photometric behavior while intermediate-gravity (INT-G) objects are more diverse, suggesting a third governing parameter beyond spectral type and gravity class. We examine the moving group memberships for all young ultracool dwarfs with parallaxes, changing/refuting the status of 23 objects and fortifying the status of another 28 objects. We use our resulting age-calibrated sample to establish empirical young isochrones and find a declining frequency of VL-G objects relative to INT-G objects with increasing age. Notable objects in our sample include high-velocity INT-G objects; very red, late-L dwarfs with high surface gravities; candidate disk-bearing members of the MBM20 cloud and beta Pic moving group; and very young distant interlopers. Finally, we provide a comprehensive summary of the absolute magnitudes and spectral classifications of 102 young ultracool dwarfs, found in the field and as substellar companions to young stars.

HN Peg B: A Test of Models of the L to T Dwarf Transition

Luhman and collaborators recently discovered an early-T dwarf companion to the G0 dwarf star HN Peg, using Spitzer Infrared Array Camera (IRAC) images. Companionship was established on the basis of the common proper motion inferred from 1998 Two Micron All Sky Survey images and the 2004 IRAC images. In this paper we present new near-infrared imaging data which confirm the common proper motion of the system.We also present new 3-4 μm spectroscopy of HN Peg B, which provides tighter constraints on both the bolometric luminosity determination and the comparison to synthetic spectra. New adaptive optics imaging data are also presented, which show the T dwarf to be unresolved, providing limits on the multiplicity of the object. We use the age, distance, and luminosity of the solar-metallicity T dwarf to determine its effective temperature and gravity, and compare synthetic spectra with these values, and a range of grain properties and vertical mixing, to the observed 0.8-4.0 μm spectra and mid-infrared photometry. We find that models with temperature and gravity appropriate for the older end of the age range of the system (0.5 Gyr) can do a reasonable job of fitting the data, but only if the photospheric condensate cloud deck is thin, and if there is significant vertical mixing in the atmosphere. Dwarfs such as HN Peg B, with well-determined metallicity, radius, gravity, and temperature, will allow development of dynamical atmosphere models, leading to the solution of the puzzle of the L to T dwarf transition.

TWO TRANSITING EARTH-SIZE PLANETS NEAR RESONANCE ORBITING A NEARBY COOL STAR

Discoveries from the prime Kepler mission demonstrated that small planets (< 3 Earth-radii) are common outcomes of planet formation. While Kepler detected many such planets, all but a handful orbit faint, distant stars and are not amenable to precise follow up measurements. Here, we report the discovery of two small planets transiting K2-21, a bright (K = 9.4) M0 dwarf located 65

WISEP J004701.06+680352.1: AN INTERMEDIATE SURFACE GRAVITY, DUSTY BROWN DWARF IN THE AB DOR MOVING GROUP

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2MASS 22344161+4041387AB: A WIDE, YOUNG, ACCRETING, LOW-MASS BINARY IN THE LkHα233 GROUP*

6 pc from Earth. We detected the transiting planets in photometry collected during Campaign 3 of NASAs K2 mission. Analysis of transit light curves reveals that the planets have small radii compared to their host star, 2.60

Infrared Parallaxes of Young Field Brown Dwarfs and Connections to Directly Imaged Gas-Giant Exoplanets

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THE RADIAL and ROTATIONAL VELOCITIES of PSO J318.5338-22.8603, A NEWLY CONFIRMED PLANETARY-MASS MEMBER of the β PICTORIS MOVING GROUP

0.14% and 3.15