Proper motion L and T dwarf candidate members of the Pleiades

We present the results of a deep optical–near-infrared (optical–NIR) multi-epoch survey covering 2.5 deg² of the Pleiades open star cluster to search for new very low-mass brown dwarf members. A significant (∼5 yr) epoch difference exists between the optical (CFH12k I -, Z -band) and NIR (UKIRT WFCAM J -band) observations. We construct I , I − Z and Z , Z − J colour–magnitude diagrams to select candidate cluster members. Proper motions are computed for all candidate members and compared to the background field objects to further refine the sample. We recover all known cluster members within the area of our survey. In addition, we have discovered nine new candidate brown dwarf cluster members. The seven faintest candidates have red Z − J colours and show blue NIR colours. These are consistent with being L- and T-type Pleiads. Theoretical models predict their masses to be around 11 M _Jup.     

New stellar members of the Coma Berenices open star cluster

We present the results of a survey of the Coma Berenices open star cluster (Melotte 111), undertaken using proper motions from the USNO-B1.0 (United States Naval Observatory) and photometry from the Two-Micron All-Sky Survey (2MASS) Point Source catalogues. We have identified 60 new candidate members with masses in the range  1.007 < M < 0.269 M_⊙  . For each we have estimated a membership probability by extracting control clusters from the proper motion vector diagram. All 60 are found to have greater than 60 per cent probability of being members, more than doubling the number of known cluster members. The new luminosity function for the cluster peaks at bright magnitudes, but is rising at   K ≈ 12  , indicating that it is likely that lower mass members may exist. The mass function also supports this hypothesis.     

New stellar and substellar candidate members of the Coma Berenices open star cluster

We present the results of a survey of the open star cluster Melotte 111 in Coma Berenices, undertaken using the USNO‐B1.0 and 2MASS Point Source catalogues. On the basis of their astrometric and photometric properties, we have identified 60 new candidate members with masses in the range 1.007 < M < 0.269 M_⊙. We estimate a membership probability for each by extracting control clusters from the proper motion vector diagram. All 60 are found to have greater than 60 per cent probability of being cluster members, which if they are confirmed as members, more than doubles the number of known cluster members. We also have I and Z photometry for 100 low mass candidate members of the cluster, 13 of which we suggest may be brown dwarfs. (© 2005 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Atmospheres of brown dwarfs

Brown dwarfs are the coolest class of stellar objects known to date. Our present perception is that brown dwarfs follow the principles of star formation, and that brown dwarfs share many characteristics with planets. Being the darkest and lowest mass stars known makes brown dwarfs also the coolest stars known. This has profound implication for their spectral fingerprints. Brown dwarfs cover a range of effective temperatures which cause brown dwarfs atmospheres to be a sequence that gradually changes from a M-dwarf-like spectrum into a planet-like spectrum. This further implies that below an effective temperature of \(\lesssim \)2,800 K, clouds form already in atmospheres of objects marking the boundary between M-Dwarfs and brown dwarfs. Recent developments have sparked the interest in plasma processes in such very cool atmospheres: sporadic and quiescent radio emission has been observed in combination with decaying X-ray activity indicators across the fully convective boundary.     

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.     

Using GALEX-SDSS-PanSTARRS-HST-Gaia to understand post-AGB evolution

Hot WDs in binary systems with a less evolved star are particularly invaluable astrophysical probes, the unevolved companion enabling better derivation of distance and age than is usually possible for post-AGB objects, and therefore also of their radius and luminosity. But hot white dwarfs (WD) are elusive at all wavelengths except the UV (Bianchi et al. 2011a). From our GALEX UV source catalogs (Bianchi et al. 2011a,b, 2014, 2017) matched to SDSS, we identified thousands of candidate hot WDs including WDs in binary systems consisting of a hot WD and a companion of spectral type from A to M. The identification and preliminary characterization of the stellar parameters is based on the analysis of the photometric SED from far-UV to z-band.We have observed subsamples of the UV-selected WDs with the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) to better characterize their stellar parameters. We obtained (1) UV spectroscopy with STIS and analyzed the UV spectra together with optical SDSS spectra, and (2) multi-band imaging with WFC3 (\(0.04^{\prime\prime}/\mbox{pixel}\)) to measure angular separation and individual SEDs of the pair’s components in binary systems. In our HST/WFC3 sample of 59 hot-WD binaries with late-type companions, we found that at least a dozen have possibly evolved without exchanging mass. The UV STIS spectroscopy led to the revision of previous results based on optical spectra only, because of the often undetectable or unquantifiable contribution of the hot component to the optical fluxes.     

New Praesepe white dwarfs and the initial mass–final mass relation

We report the spectroscopic confirmation of four further white dwarf members of Praesepe. This brings the total number of confirmed white dwarf members to 11, making this the second largest collection of these objects in an open cluster identified to date. This number is consistent with the high-mass end of the initial mass function of Praesepe being Salpeter in form. Furthermore, it suggests that the bulk of Praesepe white dwarfs did not gain a substantial recoil kick velocity from possible asymmetries in their loss of mass during the asymptotic giant branch phase of evolution. By comparing our estimates of the effective temperatures and the surface gravities of WD0833+194, WD0840+190, WD0840+205 and WD0843+184 to modern theoretical evolutionary tracks, we have derived their masses to be in the range  0.72–0.76 M_⊙  and their cooling ages ∼300 Myr. For an assumed cluster age of 625 ± 50 Myr, the inferred progenitor masses are between 3.3 and  3.5 M_⊙  . Examining these new data in the context of the initial mass–final mass relation, we find that it can be adequately represented by a linear function  ( a ₀= 0.289 ± 0.051,  a ₁= 0.133 ± 0.015)  over the initial mass range 2.7–6  M_⊙  . Assuming an extrapolation of this relation to larger initial masses is valid and adopting a maximum white dwarf mass of  1.3 M_⊙  , our results support a minimum mass for core-collapse supernovae progenitors in the range  ∼6.8–8.6 M_⊙  .     

Synergies of THESEUS with the large facilities of the 2030s and guest observer opportunities

Experimental Astronomy - The proposed THESEUS mission will vastly expand the capabilities to monitor the high-energy sky. It will specifically exploit large samples of gamma-ray bursts to probe the...