Circumstellar discs in the young σ Orionis cluster

We present new K - and L '-band imaging observations for members of the young (3–5 Myr) σ Orionis cluster, obtained at the United Kingdom Infrared Telescope (UKIRT) with the UKIRT 1–5 micron Imager Spectrometer (UIST). We determine ( K − L ') colour excesses with respect to the photospheres, finding evidence for warm circumstellar dust around 27 out of 83 cluster members that have masses between 0.04 and  1.0 M_⊙  . This indicates a circumstellar disc frequency of at least (33 ± 6) per cent for this cluster, consistent with previous determinations from smaller samples and also consistent with the 3-Myr disc half-life suggested by Haisch et al. There is marginal evidence that the disc frequency declines towards lower masses, but the data are also consistent with no mass dependence at all. There is no evidence for spatial segregation of objects with and without circumstellar discs.     

Contamination and exclusion in the σ Orionis young group

We present radial velocities for 38 low-mass candidate members of the σ Orionis young group. We have measured their radial velocities by cross-correlation of high-resolution  ( R ≈ 6000) AF2/Wide  Field Fibre Optical Spectrograph (WYFFOS) spectra of the gravity-sensitive Na  i doublet at 8183, 8195 Å. The total sample contained 117 objects, of which 54 have sufficient signal-to-noise ratio to detect Na  i at an equivalent width of 3 Å; however, we only detect Na  i in 38 of these. This implies that very low-mass members of this young group display weaker Na  i absorption than similarly aged objects in the Upper Scorpius OB association. We develop a technique to assess membership using radial velocities with a range of uncertainties that does not bias the selection when large uncertainties are present. The resulting membership probabilities are used to assess the issue of exclusion in photometric selections, and we find that very few members are likely to be excluded by such techniques. We also assess the level of contamination in the expected pre-main-sequence region of colour–magnitude space brighter than   I = 17  . We find that contamination by non-members in the expected pre-main-sequence region of the colour–magnitude diagram is small. We conclude that although radial velocity alone is insufficient to confirm membership, high signal-to-noise ratio observations of the Na  i doublet provide the opportunity to use the strength of Na  i absorption in concert with radial velocities to asses membership down to the lowest masses, where lithium absorption no longer distinguishes youth.     

A six-square-degree survey for Pleiades low-mass stars and brown dwarfs

We present the results of a six-square-degree Pleiades survey in I and Z , which is photometrically complete to approximately I _KP=19.2 ( I _Cou=19.6 in the Pleiades). We remove non-cluster contamination on the basis of proper motions and infrared photometry, and present 339 candidate cluster members, 30 of which are fainter than I _KP=17.5, and are thus strong brown-dwarf candidates.     

Proper motion Pleiades candidate L‐type brown dwarfs

We present results of an optical and near‐infrared (IR) 1.8 deg² survey in the Pleiades open cluster to search for substellar objects. From optical I ‐band images from the CFHT and J ‐band images from the 3.5m CAHA Telescope, we identify 18 faint and very red L brown dwarf candidates, with I > 20.9 and I – J > 3.2. The follow‐up observations of nine objects in the H ‐ and K _s‐bands confirm that eight belong to the IR sequence of the cluster and the proper motion measurements of seven candidates confirm that they are Pleiades members. A preliminary estimation of the substellar mass spectrum dN/ dM in the form of a power law M c^–α provides α = +0.57 ± 0.14. We extrapolate this function to estimate the number of planetary mass objects that could be present in the cluster down to 1 M_Jup. Sensitive searches combining far red and near‐IR observations may unveal these objects in a near future. (© 2005 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Dynamical parallax of σ Ori AB: mass, distance and age

The massive OB-type binary σ Ori AB is in the centre of the very young σ Orionis cluster. I have computed the most probable distances and masses of the binary for several ages using a dynamical parallax-like method. It incorporates the BVRIH -band apparent magnitudes of both components, precise orbital parameters, interstellar extinction and a widely used grid of stellar models from the literature, Kepler's third law and a  χ²  minimization. The derived distance is  334⁺²⁵₋₂₂ pc  for an age of 3 ± 2 Ma; larger ages and distances are unlikely. The masses of the primary and the secondary lie on the approximate intervals  16–20 and 10–12 M_⊙  , respectively. I also discuss the possibility of σ Ori AB being a triple system at ∼ 385 pc. These results will help to constrain the properties of young stars and substellar objects in the σ Orionis cluster.     

Ultra low‐mass star and substellar formation in σ Orionis

The nearby young σ Orionis cluster (∼360 pc, ∼3 Myr) is becoming one of the most important regions for the study of ultra low‐mass star formation and its extension down to the mass regimes of the brown dwarfs and planetarymass objects. Here, I introduce the σ Orionis cluster and present three studies that the JOVIAN group is developing: a pilot programme of near‐infrared adaptive‐optics imaging of stars of the cluster, intermediate‐resolution optical spectroscopy of a large sample of stars of the cluster and a study of the mass function down to the planetary‐mass domain. This paper is a summary of the content of four posters that I presented in the Ultra low‐mass star formation and evolution Workshop, as single author or on behalf of different collaborations. (© 2005 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Spectroscopy of new Pleiades brown dwarfs

Follow-up spectroscopy of the four brown dwarf candidates discovered in an 850 arcmin² optical/near-infrared survey of the Pleiades cluster is presented. All four candidates show spectra consistent with Pleiades membership and should be considered to be very probable members, as the possibility of their being field stars has been shown to be small. At l  = 20.55 and I  −  J  = 3.40 our faintest candidate, NPL40, is the lowest mass brown dwarf spectroscopically identified in the Pleiades at present. Its mass was estimated to be 0.040 M⊙.     

Optical and infrared photometry of new very low‐mass stars and brown dwarfs in the σ Orionis cluster

We present an RI photometric survey covering an area of 430 arcmin² around the multiple star σ Orionis. The observations were conducted with the 0.8 m IAC‐80 Telescope at the Teide Observatory. The survey limiting R and I magnitudes are 22.5 and 21, and completeness magnitudes 21 and 20, respectively. We have selected 53 candidates from the I vs. R–I colour‐magnitude diagram (I = 14–20) that follow the previously known photometric sequence of the cluster. Adopting an age of 2–4 Myr for the cluster, we find that these objects span a mass range from 0.35 M_⊙ to 0.015 M_⊙. We have performed J‐band photometry of 52 candidates and K_s photometry for 12 of them, with the result that 50 follow the expected infrared sequence for the cluster, thus confirming with great confidence that the majority of the candidates are bona fide members. JHK_s photometry from the Two Micron All Sky Survey (2MASS) is available for 50 of the candidates and are in good agreement with our data. Out of 48 candidates, which have photometric accuracies better than 0.1 mag in all bands, only three appear to show near‐infrared excesses. (© 2004 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Variability in the Lambda Orionis cluster substellar domain

We present the first results on variability of very low mass stars and brown dwarfs belonging to the ∼5 Myr Lambda Orionis cluster (Collinder 69). We have monitored almost continuously in the J filter a small area of the cluster which includes 12 possible members of the cluster during one night. Some members have turned to be short‐term variables. One of them, LOri167, has a mass close to the planetary mass limit and its variability might be due to instabilities produced by the deuterium burning, although other mechanism cannot be ruled out. (© 2005 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

L dwarfs in the Hyades

We present the results of a proper motion survey of the Hyades to search for brown dwarfs, based on UKIRT Deep Sky Survey (UKIDSS) and Two-Micron All Sky Survey (2MASS) data. This survey covers  ∼275 deg²  to a depth of   K ∼ 15  mag, equivalent to a mass of  ∼0.05 M_⊙  assuming a cluster age of 625 Myr. The discovery of 12 L dwarf Hyades members is reported. These members are also brown dwarfs, with masses between  0.05 < M < 0.075 M_⊙  . A high proportion of these L dwarfs appear to be photometric binaries.     

Close binary systems among very low‐mass stars and brown dwarfs

Using Monte Carlo simulations and published radial velocity surveys we have constrained the frequency and separation (a ) distribution of very low‐mass star (VLM) and brown dwarf (BD) binary systems.We find that simple Gaussian extensions of the observed wide binary distribution, with a peak at 4AU and 0.6 < σ _{log(a /AU)} < 1.0, correctly reproduce the observed number of close binary systems, implying a close (a < 2.6 AU) binary frequency of 17–30% and overall frequency of 32–45%. N‐body models of the dynamical decay of unstable protostellar multiple systems are excluded with high confidence because they do not produce enough close binary VLMs/BDs. The large number of close binaries and high overall binary frequency are also completely inconsistent with published smoothed particle hydrodynamical modelling and argue against a dynamical origin for VLMs/BDs. (© 2005 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Accretion in brown dwarfs down to nearly planetary masses

We show that in accreting ultra low‐mass stars and brown dwarfs, the CaII λ 8662 emission line flux correlates remarkably well with the mass accretion rate ( ), just as it does in higher mass classical T Tauri stars (CTTs). A straightforward measurement of the CaII flux thus provides an easier determination technique than detailed modeling of the Hα emission line profile (except at the very lowest accretion rates, where CaII does not appear to be in emission for ultra low‐mass objects, and Hα modeling is required). Using optical high‐resolution spectra, we infer from CaII emission for young ultra low‐mass objects down to nearly the deuterium‐burning (planetary‐mass) limit. Our results, in combination with previous determinations of in CTTs, illustrate that the accretion rate declines steeply with mass, roughly as ∝ M_*² (albeit with considerable scatter). A similar relationship has been suggested by previous studies; we extend it down to nearly the planetary regime. The physical reason for this phenomenon is not yet clear; we discuss various possible mechanisms. (© 2005 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

A population of very young brown dwarfs and free-floating planets in Orion

We describe the results of a very deep imaging survey of the Trapezium cluster in the IJH bands, using the UKIRT high-resolution camera UFTI. Approximately 32 per cent of the 515 point sources detected are brown dwarf candidates, including several free-floating objects with masses below the deuterium-burning (planetary) threshold at 0.013 M_⊙, which are detectable because of their extreme youth. We have confidence that almost all the sources detected are cluster members, since foreground contamination is minimal in the 33-arcmin² area surveyed, and the dense backdrop of OMC-1 obscures all background stars at these wavelengths. Extinction is calculated from the ( J − H ) colours, permitting accurate luminosity estimates, and temperatures are derived from the dereddened ( I − J ) colours. There is some evidence for a cut-off in the luminosity function below the level corresponding to several Jupiter masses, which may represent the bottom end of the initial mass function . Since star formation is complete in the Trapezium, this limit could have wide significance, if confirmed. However, it could well be an effect of the dispersal of the molecular cloud by the central O-type stars, a process for which the time-scale will vary between star formation regions.