arXiv subjects

A. J. Burgasser

Publications and source records attributed to A. J. Burgasser.

At least 73 records · Page 4Linked to original sources

arXiv2016

Primeval very low-mass stars and brown dwarfs. I. Six new L subdwarfs, classification and atmospheric properties

We have conducted a search for L subdwarf candidates within the photometric catalogues of the UKIRT Infrared Deep Sky Survey and Sloan Digital Sky Survey. Six of our candidates are confirmed as L subdwarfs spectroscopically at optical and/or near infrared wavelengths. We also present new optical spectra of three previously known L subdwarfs (WISEA J001450.17-083823.4, 2MASS J00412179+3547133, ULAS J124425.75+102439.3). We examined the spectral types and metallicity subclasses classification of known L subdwarfs. We summarised the spectroscopic properties of L subdwarfs with different spectral types and subclasses. We classify these new L subdwarfs by comparing their spectra to known L subdwarfs and L dwarf standards. We estimate temperatures and metallicities of 22 late type M and L subdwarfs by comparing their spectra to BT-Settl models. We find that L subdwarfs have temperatures between 1500 K and 2700 K, which are higher than similarly-typed L dwarfs by around 100-400 K depending on different subclasses and subtypes. We constrained the metallicity ranges of subclasses of M, L and T subdwarfs. We also discussed the spectral type and absolute magnitude relationships for L and T subdwarfs.

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arXiv2015

Radial Velocity Variability of Field Brown Dwarfs

We present paper six of the NIRSPEC Brown Dwarf Spectroscopic Survey, an analysis of multi-epoch, high-resolution (R~20,000) spectra of 25 field dwarf systems (3 late-type M dwarfs, 16 L dwarfs, and 6 T dwarfs) taken with the NIRSPEC infrared spectrograph at the W. M. Keck Observatory. With a radial velocity precision of ~2 km/s, we are sensitive to brown dwarf companions in orbits with periods of a few years or less given a mass ratio of 0.5 or greater. We do not detect any spectroscopic binary brown dwarfs in the sample. Given our target properties, and the frequency and cadence of observations, we use a Monte Carlo simulation to determine the detection probability of our sample. Even with a null detection result, our 1 sigma upper limit for very low mass binary frequency is 18%. Our targets included 7 known, wide brown dwarf binary systems. No significant radial velocity variability was measured in our multi-epoch observations of these systems, even for those pairs for which our data spanned a significant fraction of the orbital period. Specialized techniques are required to reach the high precisions sensitive to motion in orbits of very low-mass systems. For eight objects, including six T dwarfs, we present the first published high-resolution spectra, many with high signal to noise, that will provide valuable comparison data for models of brown dwarf atmospheres.

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arXiv2015

DE0823$-$49 is a juvenile binary brown dwarf at 20.7 pc

Astrometric monitoring of the nearby early-L dwarf DE0823$-$49 has revealed a low-mass companion in a 248-day orbit that was announced in an earlier work. Here, we present new astrometric and spectroscopic observations that allow us to characterise the system in detail. The optical spectrum shows LiI-absorption indicative of a young age and/or substellar mass for the primary component. The near-infrared spectrum is best reproduced by a binary system of brown dwarfs with spectral types of L1.5 $+$ L5.5 and effective temperatures of $2150\pm100$ K and $1670\pm140$ K. To conform with the photocentric orbit size measured with astrometry and the current understanding of substellar evolution, the system must have an age in the 80--500 Myr range. Evolutionary models predict component masses in the ranges of $M_1\simeq0.028-0.063\,M_\odot$ and $M_2\simeq0.018-0.045\,M_\odot$ with a mass ratio of $q\simeq0.64-0.74$. Multi-epoch radial velocity measurements unambiguously establish the three-dimensional orbit of the system and allow us to investigate its kinematic properties. DE0823$-$49 emerges as a rare example of a nearby brown dwarf binary with orbit, component properties, and age that are characterised well. It is a juvenile resident of the solar neighbourhood, but does not appear to belong to a known young association or moving group.

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arXiv2015

A search for lithium in metal-poor L dwarfs

The aim of the project is to search for lithium in absorption at 6707.8 Angstroms to constrain the nature and the mass of the brightest low-metallicity L-type dwarfs (refered to as L subdwarfs) identified in large-scale surveys. We obtained low- to intermediate-resolution (R~2500-9000) optical (~560-770 nm) spectra of two mid-L subdwarfs, SDSSJ125637.13-022452.4 (SDSS1256; sdL3.5) and 2MASSJ162620.14+392519.5 (2MASS1626; sdL4) with spectrographs on the European Southern Observatory Very Large Telescope and the Gran Telescopio de Canarias. We report the presence of a feature at the nominal position of the lithium absorption doublet at 6707.8 Angstroms in the spectrum of SDSS1256, with an equivalent width of 66+/-27 Angstroms at 2.4 sigma, which we identify as arising from a CaH molecular transition based on atmosphere models. We do not see any feature at the position of the lithium feature in the spectrum of 2MASS1626. The existence of overlapping molecular absorption sets a confusion detection limit of [Li/H]=-3 for equivalently-typed L subdwarfs. We provided improved radial velocity measurements of -126+/-10 km/s and -239+/-12 km/s for SDSS1256 and 2MASS1626, respectively, as well as revised Galactic orbits. We implemented adjusting factors for the CaH molecule in combination with the NextGen atmosphere models to fit the optical spectrum of SDSS1256 in the 6200-7300 Angstroms range. We also estimate the expected Li abundance from interstellar accretion ([Li/H]=-5), place limits on circumstellar accretion (10^9 g/yr), and discuss the prospects of Li searches in cooler L and T subdwarfs.

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arXiv2015

The Deepest Constraints on Radio and X-ray Magnetic Activity in Ultracool Dwarfs from WISE J104915.57-531906.1

We report upper limits to the radio and X-ray emission from the newly discovered ultracool dwarf binary WISE J104915.57$-$531906.1 (Luhman 16AB). As the nearest ultracool dwarf binary (2 pc), its proximity offers a hefty advantage to studying plasma processes in ultracool dwarfs which are more similar in gross properties (radius, mass, temperature) to the solar system giant planets than stars. The radio and X-ray emission upper limits from the Australia Telescope Compact Array (ATCA) and Chandra observations, each spanning multiple rotation periods, provide the deepest fractional radio and X-ray luminosities to date on an ultracool dwarf, with $\log{(L_{\rm r,ν}/L_{\rm bol}) [Hz^{-1}]} < -18.1$ (5.5 GHz), $\log{(L_{\rm r,ν}/L_{\rm bol}) [Hz^{-1}]} < -17.9$ (9 GHz), and $\log{(L_{\rm x}/L_{\rm bol})} < -5.7$. While the radio upper limits alone do not allow for a constraint on the magnetic field strength, we limit the size of any coherently emitting region in our line of sight to less than 0.2\% of the radius of one of the brown dwarfs. Any source of incoherent emission must span less than about 20\% of the brown dwarf radius, assuming magnetic field strengths of a few tens to a few hundred Gauss. The fast rotation and large amplitude photometric variability exhibited by the T dwarf in the Luhman 16AB system are not accompanied by enhanced nonthermal radio emission, nor enhanced heating to coronal temperatures, as observed on some higher mass ultracool dwarfs, confirming the expected decoupling of matter and magnetic field in cool neutral atmospheres.

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arXiv2014

Constraints on the binary Properties of mid to late T dwarfs from Hubble Space Telescope WFC3 Observations

We used HST/WFC3 observations of a sample of 26 nearby ($\le$20 pc) mid to late T dwarfs to search for cooler companions and measure the multiplicity statistics of brown dwarfs. Tightly-separated companions were searched for using a double-PSF fitting algorithm. We also compared our detection limits based on simulations to other prior T5+ brown dwarf binary programs. No new wide or tight companions were identified, which is consistent with the number of known T5+ binary systems and the resolution limits of WFC3. We use our results to add new constraints to the binary fraction of T-type brown dwarfs. Modeling selection effects and adopting previously derived separation and mass ratio distributions, we find an upper limit total binary fraction of <16% and <25% assuming power law and flat mass ratio distributions respectively, which are consistent with previous results. We also characterize a handful of targets around the L/T transition.

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arXiv2014

The discovery of a T6.5 subdwarf

We report the discovery of ULAS J131610.28+075553.0, a sdT6.5 dwarf in the UKIDSS Large Area Survey 2 epoch proper motion catalogue. This object displays significant spectral peculiarity, with the largest yet seen deviations from T6 and T7 templates in the Y and K bands for this subtype. Its large, ~1 arcsec/yr, proper motion suggests a large tangential velocity of Vtan = 240 - 340km/s, if we assume its MJ lies within the typical range for T6.5 dwarfs. This makes it a candidate for membership of the Galactic halo population. However, other metal poor T dwarfs exhibit significant under luminosity both in specific bands and bolometrically. As a result, it is likely that its velocity is somewhat smaller, and we conclude it is a likely thick disc or halo member. This object represents the only T dwarf earlier than T8 to be classified as a subdwarf, and is a significant addition to the currently small number of known unambiguously substellar subdwarfs.

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arXiv2013

Parallaxes of five L Dwarfs with a Robotic Telescope

We report the parallax and proper motion of five L dwarfs obtained with observations from the robotic Liverpool Telescope. Our derived proper motions are consistent with published values and have considerably smaller errors. Based on our spectral type versus absolute magnitude diagram, we do not find any evidence for binaries among our sample, or, at least no comparable mass binaries. Their space velocities locate them within the thin disk and based on the model comparisons they have solar-like abundances. For all five objects, we derived effective temperature, luminosity, radius, gravity and mass from a evolutionary model(CBA00) and our measured parallax; moreover, we derived their effective temperature by integrating observed optical and near-infrared spectra and model spectra (BSH06 or BT-Dusty respectively) at longer wavelengths to obtain bolometric {\bf flux using} the classical Stefan-Boltzmann law: generally the three temperatures for one object derived using two different methods with three models are consistent, while at lower temperature(e.g. for L4) the differences among the three temperatures are slightly larger than that at higher temperature(e.g. for L1).

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arXiv2013

Fundamental properties of T dwarfs from model fits to FIRE spectra

We fit a sample of 49 R=6000 NIR (0.9 - 2.5 micron) T dwarf spectra obtained with Magellan's FIRE spectrograph with two different atmospheric model sets to compare the derived physical parameters such as Teff, log g, cloud opacity, and rotational velocity between the models, as well as their reliability. Many of our T dwarfs have distance measurements, which allows us to calculate their radii during the fitting, which can be compared to evolutionary models to determine age, mass and potentially the presence of unseen companions. We present our spectral sample and model fits, and comment on the measured fundamental properties of these T dwarfs. Our analysis allows us to identify global deviations between models and observed spectra, and hence provides important feedback for the next generation of substellar atmospheric models.

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arXiv2013

Luhman 16AB: A Remarkable, Variable L/T Transition Binary 2 pc from the Sun

Luhman (2013) has reported the discovery of a brown dwarf binary system only 2.01+/-0.15 pc from the Sun. The binary is well-resolved with a projected separation of 1.5", and spectroscopic observations have identified the components as late-L and early-T dwarfs. The system exhibits several remarkable traits, including a "flux reversal", where the T dwarf is brighter over 0.9-1.3 micron but fainter at other wavelengths; and significant (~10%) short-period (~4.9 hr) photometric variability with a complex light curve. These observations suggest spatial variations in condensate cloud structure, which is known to evolve substantially across the L dwarf/T dwarf transition. Here we report preliminary results from a multi-site monitoring campaign aimed at probing the spectral and temporal properties of this source. Focusing on our spectroscopic observations, we report the first detections of NIR spectral variability, present detailed analysis of K I lines that confirm differences in condensate opacity between the components; and preliminary determinations of radial and rotational velocities based on high-resolution NIR spectroscopy.

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arXiv2013

PS1-10afx at z=1.388: Pan-STARRS1 Discovery of a New Type of Superluminous Supernova

We present the Pan-STARRS1 discovery of PS1-10afx, a unique hydrogen-deficient superluminous supernova (SLSN) at z=1.388. The light curve peaked at z_P1=21.7 mag, making PS1-10afx comparable to the most luminous known SNe, with M_u = -22.3 mag. Our extensive optical and NIR observations indicate that the bolometric light curve of PS1-10afx rose on the unusually fast timescale of ~12 d to the extraordinary peak luminosity of 4.1e44 erg/s (M_bol = -22.8 mag) and subsequently faded rapidly. Equally important, the SED is unusually red for a SLSN, with a color temperature of 6800 K near maximum light, in contrast to previous H-poor SLSNe, which are bright in the UV. The spectra more closely resemble those of a normal SN Ic than any known SLSN, with a photospheric velocity of 11,000 km/s and evidence for line blanketing in the rest-frame UV. Despite the fast rise, these parameters imply a very large emitting radius (>5e15 cm). We demonstrate that no existing theoretical model can satisfactorily explain this combination of properties: (i) a nickel-powered light curve cannot match the combination of high peak luminosity with the fast timescale; (ii) models powered by the spindown energy of a rapidly-rotating magnetar predict significantly hotter and faster ejecta; and (iii) models invoking shock breakout through a dense circumstellar medium cannot explain the observed spectra or color evolution. The host galaxy is well detected in pre-explosion imaging with a luminosity near L*, a star formation rate of 15 M_sun/yr, and is fairly massive (2e10 M_sun), with a stellar population age of 1e8 yr, also in contrast to the dwarf hosts of known H-poor SLSNe. PS1-10afx is distinct from known examples of SLSNe in its spectra, colors, light-curve shape, and host galaxy properties, suggesting that it resulted from a different channel than other hydrogen-poor SLSNe.

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arXiv2011

Confirmation of One of the Coldest Known Brown Dwarfs

Using two epochs of 4.5um images from the Infrared Array Camera (IRAC) on board the Spitzer Space Telescope, we recently identified a common proper motion companion to the white dwarf WD 0806-661 that is a candidate for the coldest known brown dwarf. To verify its cool nature, we have obtained images of this object at 3.6um with IRAC, at J with HAWK-I on the Very Large Telescope, and in a filter covering the red half of J with FourStar on Magellan. WD 0806-661 B is detected by IRAC but not HAWK-I or FourStar. From these data we measure colors of [3.6]-[4.5]=2.77+/-0.16 and J-[4.5]>7.0 (SNR<3). Based on these colors and its absolute magnitudes, WD 0806-661 B is the coldest companion directly imaged outside of the solar system and is a contender for the coldest known brown dwarf with the Y dwarf WISEP J1828+2650. It is unclear which of these two objects is colder given the available data. A comparison of its absolute magnitude at 4.5um to the predictions of theoretical spectra and evolutionary models suggests that WD 0806-661 B has T=300-345 K.

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arXiv2011

The surface composition of large Kuiper belt object 2007 OR10

We present photometry and spectra of the large Kuiper belt object 2007 OR10. The data show significant near-infrared absorption features due to water ice. While most objects in the Kuiper belt with water ice absorption this prominent have the optically neutral colors of water ice, 2007 OR10 is among the reddest Kuiper belt objects known. One other large Kuiper belt object -- Quaoar -- has similar red coloring and water ice absorption, and it is hypothesized that the red coloration of this object is due to irradiation of the small amounts of methane able to be retained on Quaoar. 2007 OR10, though warmer than Quaoar, is in a similar volatile retention because it is sufficiently larger that its stronger gravity can still retain methane. We propose, therefore, that the red coloration on 2007 OR10 is also caused by the retention of small amounts of methane. Positive detection will require spectra of methane on 2007 OR10 will require spectra with higher signal-to-noise. Models for volatile retention on Kuiper belt objects appear to continue to do an excellent job reproducing all of the available observations.

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arXiv2011

Discovery of a Candidate for the Coolest Known Brown Dwarf

We have used multi-epoch images from the Infrared Array Camera on board the Spitzer Space Telescope to search for substellar companions to stars in the solar neighborhood based on common proper motions. Through this work, we have discovered a faint companion to the white dwarf WD 0806-661. The comoving source has a projected separation of 130", corresponding to 2500 AU at the distance of the primary (19.2 pc). If it is physically associated, then its absolute magnitude at 4.5um is ~1 mag fainter than the faintest known T dwarfs, making it a strong candidate for the coolest known brown dwarf. The combination of M_4.5 and the age of the primary (1.5 Gyr) implies an effective temperature of ~300 K and a mass of ~7 M_Jup according to theoretical evolutionary models. The white dwarf's progenitor likely had a mass of ~2 M_sun, and thus could have been born with a circumstellar disk that was sufficiently massive to produce a companion with this mass. Therefore, the companion could be either a brown dwarf that formed like a binary star or a giant planet that was born within a disk and has been dynamically scattered to a larger orbit.

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arXiv2009

2MASS J06164006-6407194: The First Outer Halo L Subdwarf

We present the serendipitous discovery of an L subdwarf, 2MASS J06164006-6407194, in a search of the Two Micron All Sky Survey for T dwarfs. Its spectrum exhibits features indicative of both a cool and metal poor atmosphere including a heavily pressured-broadened K I resonant doublet, Cs I and Rb I lines, molecular bands of CaH, TiO, CrH, FeH, and H2O, and enhanced collision induced absorption of H2. We assign 2MASS 0616-6407 a spectral type of sdL5 based on a comparison of its red optical spectrum to that of near solar-metallicity L dwarfs. Its high proper motion (mu =1.405+-0.008 arcsec yr-1), large radial velocity (Vrad = 454+-15 km s-1), estimated uvw velocities (94, -573, 125) km s-1 and Galactic orbit with an apogalacticon at ~29 kpc are indicative of membership in the outer halo making 2MASS 0616-6407 the first ultracool member of this population.

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arXiv2009

Spectrophotometrically Identified stars in the PEARS-N and PEARS-S fields

Deep ACS slitless grism observations and identification of stellar sources are presented within the Great Observatories Origins Deep Survey (GOODS) North and South fields which were obtained in the Probing Evolution And Reionization Spectroscopically (PEARS) program. It is demonstrated that even low resolution spectra can be a very powerful means to identify stars in the field, especially low mass stars with stellar types M0 and later. The PEARS fields lay within the larger GOODS fields, and we used new, deeper images to further refine the selection of stars in the PEARS field, down to a magnitude of mz = 25 using a newly developed stellarity parameter. The total number of stars with reliable spectroscopic and morphological identification was 95 and 108 in the north and south fields respectively. The sample of spectroscopically identified stars allows constraints to be set on the thickness of the Galactic thin disk as well as contributions from a thick disk and a halo component. We derive a thin disk scale height, as traced by the population of M4 to M9 dwarfs along two independent lines of sight, of h_thin = 370 +60/-65 pc. When including the more massive M0 to M4 dwarf population, we derive h_thin = 300 +/- 70pc. In both cases, we observe that we must include a combination of thick and halo components in our models in order to account for the observed numbers of faint dwarfs. The required thick disk scale height is typically h_thick=1000 pc and the acceptable relative stellar densities of the thin disk to thick disk and the thin disk to halo components are in the range of 0.00025<f_halo<0.0005 and 0.05<f_thick<0.08 and are somewhat dependent on whether the more massive M0 to M4 dwarfs are included in our sample.

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arXiv2008

Discovery of a T Dwarf Binary with the Largest Known J-Band Flux Reversal

We present Keck laser guide star observations of two T2.5 dwarfs - 2MASS J11061197+2754225 & 2MASS J14044941-3159329 - using NIRC2 on Keck-II and find 2MASS J14044941-3159329 to be a 0.13" binary. This system has a secondary that is 0.45 mags brighter than the primary in J-band but 0.49 mags fainter in H-band and 1.13 mags fainter in Ks-band. We use this relative photometry along with near-infrared synthetic modeling performed on the integrated light spectrum to derive component types of T1 for the primary and T5 for the secondary. Optical spectroscopy of this system obtained with Magellan/LDSS-3 is also presented. This is the fourth L/T transition binary to show a flux reversal in the 1-1.2 micron regime and this one has the largest flux reversal. Unless the secondary is itself an unresolved binary, the J-band magnitude difference between the secondary and primary shows that the J-band "bump" is indeed a real feature and not an artifact caused by unresolved binarity.

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arXiv2008

Contamination by field late-M, L and T dwarfs in deep surveys

Context: Deep photometric surveys for substellar objects in young clusters and for high-redshift quasars are affected by contaminant sources at different heliocentric distances.If not correctly taken into account, the contamination may have a strong effect on the Initial Mass Function determination and on the identification of quasars. Aims: We calculate in detail the back- and foreground contamination by field dwarfs of very late spectral types (intermediate and late M, L and T) in deep surveys and provide the data and tools for the computation. Methods: Up-to-date models and data from the literature have been used: (i) a model of the Galactic thin disc by an exponential law; (ii) the length and height scales for late-type dwarfs; (iii) the local spatial densities, absolute magnitudes and colours of dwarfs for each spectral type. Results: We derive a simplified expression for the spatial density in the thin disc that depends on the heliocentric distance and the galactic coordinates (l, b) and integrate it in the truncated cone screened in the survey. As a practical application, we compute the numbers of L- and T-type field dwarfs in very deep (I = 21-29 mag) surveys in the direction of the young sigma Orionis cluster. The increasing number of contaminants at the faintest magnitudes could inhibit the study of the opacity mass limit at M <~ 0.003 M_sol in the cluster.

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