arXiv subjects

Sebastien Lepine

Publications and source records attributed to Sebastien Lepine.

64 records · Page 4Linked to original sources

arXiv2004

Ultracool Subdwarfs: Metal-poor Stars and Brown Dwarfs Extending into the Late-type M, L and T Dwarf Regimes

Recent discoveries from red optical proper motion and wide-field near-infrared surveys have uncovered a new population of ultracool subdwarfs -- metal-poor stars and brown dwarfs extending into the late-type M, L and possibly T spectral classes. These objects are among the first low-mass stars and brown dwarfs formed in the Galaxy, and are valuable tracers of metallicity effects in low-temperature atmospheres. Here we review the spectral, photometric, and kinematic properties of recent discoveries. We also examine L subdwarf classification, and discuss how a large, complete sample of substellar halo subdwarfs could probe the star formation history of the Galaxy's Population II. We conclude by outlining a roadmap for future work to more thoroughly explore this old and very low-mass population.

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arXiv2003

New High Proper Motion Stars from the Digitized Sky Survey. II. Northern Stars with 0.5<mu<2.0 arcsec/yr at High Galactic Latitudes

In a continuation of our systematic search for high proper motion stars in the Digitized Sky Survey, we have completed the analysis of northern sky fields at galactic latitudes above 25 degrees. With the help of our SUPERBLINK software, a powerful automated blink comparator developed by us, we have identified 1146 stars in the magnitude range 8<r<20 with proper motions 0.500<mu<2.000 arcsec/yr. These include 1080 stars previously listed in Luyten's proper motion catalogs (LHS, NLTT), 9 stars not previously listed in the Luyten catalogs but reported elsewhere in the literature (including 1 previously reported by our team), and 57 new objects reported here for the first time. This paper includes a list of positions, proper motions, magnitudes, and finder charts for all the new high proper motion stars. Combined with our previous study of low galactic latitude fields (see Paper I), our survey now covers over 98% of the northern sky. We conclude that the Luyten catalogs were 90% complete in the northern sky for stars with 0.5<mu<2.0 arcsec/yr down to magnitude r=19. We discuss the incompleteness of the old Luyten proper motion survey, and estimate completeness limits for our new survey.

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arXiv2003

LSR1610-0040: the first early-type L subdwarf

We report the discovery of LSR1610-0040, a previously unreported r=17.5 star with a very high proper motion mu=1.46"/yr. This very cool star (b-i=6.3) is found to have a peculiar spectrum that does not fit into the standard sequence of late-M dwarfs and L dwarfs. Rather, the spectrum is more typical of an ultra-cool subdwarf, with weak bands of TiO and no detectable VO. But because LSR1610-0040 is so much redder than any other sdM known, and because it does not appear to fit well into the sdM sequence, we propose that LSR1610-0040 be assigned a spectral type sdL, making it the first early-type L subdwarf known. Evidence suggests that LSR1610-0040 is an old, metal-poor star whose mass is just above the limit of hydrogen burning (M ~ 0.08 M_sun).

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arXiv2003

LSR0602+3910 - Discovery of a Bright Nearby L-type Brown Dwarf

We report the discovery of LSR0602+3910, an L dwarf of class L1. The object was initially identified by Lepine et al. (2002) as a new high proper motion star lying close to the Galactic plane. Its 2MASS J-K_s=1.43 is consistent with an L dwarf, which we now confirm spectroscopically. In addition, we see a signature of Li I absorption, making LSR0602+3910 a brown dwarf, one of the brightest known (K_s=10.86). Among L dwarfs it is second in brightness to the combined light of 2MASS 0746+20, a close binary system. We see no indication that LSR0602+3910 is a binary, although high-resolution imaging will be required to confirm this. Spectroscopic and photometric distance estimates agree very well, placing LSR0602+3910 at d=10.6+-0.8 pc. LSR0602+3910 was most likely missed in previous searches because of its proximity to the plane, the region that most searches avoided. We estimate that some 40% of bright L dwarfs are missed because of this selection effect.

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arXiv2003

Discovery of an ultra-cool subdwarf: LSR1425+7102, first star with spectral type sdM8.0

We report the discovery of the coolest subdwarf reported to date. The star LSR1425+7102 was discovered in our survey for faint high proper motion stars in the northern sky. Follow-up spectroscopy revealed the star to be a very red object with the characteristic signature of M subdwarfs: strong CaH bands but relatively weaker TiO bands. The CaH molecular band at $\approxλ$6900Å is particularly strong. By extrapolating the empirical relationship between the strength of the CaH molecular band and the subdwarf subtype, we conclude that LSR1425+7102 is the first star to be discovered with spectral type sdM8.0.

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arXiv2002

Spectroscopy of New High Proper Motion Stars in the Northern Sky. I. New Nearby Stars, New High Velocity Stars, and an Enhanced Classification Scheme for M Dwarfs

We define an enhanced spectral classification scheme for M dwarf stars, and use it to derive spectral classification of 104 northern stars with proper motions larger than 0.5"/yr which we discovered in a survey of high proper motion stars at low galactic latitudes. The final tally is as follows: 54 M dwarfs, 25 sdK and sdM subdwarfs, 14 esdK and esdM extreme subdwarfs, and 11 DA and DC white dwarfs. Among the most interesting cases, we find one star to be the coolest subdwarf ever reported (LSR2036+5059, with spectral type sdM7.5), a new M9.0 dwarf only about 6pc distant (LSR1835+3259), and a new M6.5 dwarf only 7pc from the Sun (LSR2124+4003). Spectroscopic distances suggests that 27 of the M dwarfs, 3 of the white dwarfs, and one of the subdwarfs (LSR2036+5059) are within 25pc of the Sun, making them excellent candidates for inclusion in the solar neighborhood census. Estimated sky-projected velocities suggest that most of our subdwarfs and extreme subdwarfs have halo kinematics. We find that several white dwarfs and non metal-poor M dwarfs also have kinematics consistent with the halo, and we briefly discuss their possible origin.

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arXiv2002

Discovery of an M8.5 Dwarf With Proper Motion mu=2.38 arcsec/yr

We report the discovery of LSR1826+3014, a very faint (V=19.36) star with a very large proper motion (mu=2.38 arcsec/yr). A low resolution red spectrum reveals that LSR1826+3014 is an ultra-cool red dwarf with spectral type M8.5 V and with a radial velocity v_rad=+77+/-10 km/s. LSR1826+3014 is thus the faintest red dwarf ever discovered with a proper motion larger than 2 arcsec/yr. Optical and infrared photometry suggest that the star is at a distance d=13.9+/-3.5 pc from the Sun, which implies it is moving relative to the local standard of rest with a total velocity of 175+/-25 km/s. Numerical integration of its orbit suggests that LSR1826+3014 is on a halo-like galactic orbit.

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arXiv2002

New High Proper Motion Stars from the Digitized Sky Survey. I. Northern Stars with proper motion between 0.5 and 2.0 arcsec/yr at Low Galactic Latitudes

We have conducted a systematic search for high proper motion stars in the Digitized Sky Survey, in the area of the sky north of -2.8 degrees in declination and within 25 degrees of the galactic plane. Using the SUPERBLINK software, a powerful automated blink comparator developed by us, we have identified 601 stars in the magnitude range 9 2.0\arcsec/yr), and 5 were missed because they were either too bright for SUPERBLINK to handle or they are in the immediate proximity of very bright stars. Only one of Luyten's stars (LHS1657) could not be recovered at all, even by visual inspection of the POSS plates, and is now suspected to be bogus. The very high success rate in the recovery by SUPERBLINK of faint Luyten stars suggests that our new survey of high proper motion stars is at least 99 percent complete for stars with proper motions 0.5 to 2.0 arcsec/yr down to R=19. This paper includes a list of positions, proper motions, magnitudes, and finder charts for all the new high proper motion stars.

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arXiv2002

New distant companions to known nearby stars: I. GJ 4047B, GJ 718B, GJ 747.2C, GJ 4100B, and GJ 4153B

In an ongoing survey for high proper motion stars at low galactic latitudes, we have identified 5 previously uncatalogued common proper motion companions to stars listed in the Preliminary Version of the Third Catalogue of Nearby Stars (GJ stars). For each system, the relative proper motion between the components is less than 5% of the common proper motion of the pair. Spectra of the pairs have been obtained at the Lick 3-m Shane Telescope, confirming that the systems are indeed wide separation binaries. The systems are classified as follows: GJ 4047AB = K5 V + M5 V, GJ 718AB = K5 V + M4.5 V, GJ 747.2ABC = (K7 V + K7 V) + M4 Ve, GJ 4100AB = M1 V + M4.5 Ve, and GJ 4153AB = M0.5 V + M3.5 V. The total area surveyed contains 346 Gliese stars, which suggests that approximately 1.5% of the stars listed in the Preliminary Version of the Third Catalogue of Nearby Stars have unrecognized proper motion companions. We predict that 15-50 more new distant companions to GJ stars will be discovered in the Digitized Sky Survey.

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arXiv2001

Spatially resolved STIS spectra of WR+OB binaries with colliding winds

We present spatially resolved spectra of the visual WR+OB massive binaries WR86, WR146, and WR147, obtained with the Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph on board the Hubble Space Telescope. The systems are classified as follows: WR86 = WC7 + B0 III, WR146 = WC6 + O8 I-IIf, WR147 = WN8 + O5-7 I-II(f). Both WR146 and WR147 are known to have strong non-thermal radio emission arising in a wind-wind collision shock zone between the WR and OB components. We find that the spectra of their O companions show Halpha profiles in emission, indicative of large mass-loss rates, and consistent with the colliding-wind model. Our spectra indicate that the B component in WR86 has a low mass-loss rate, which possibly explains the fact that WR86, despite being a long period WR+OB binary, was not found to be a strong non-thermal radio emitter. Because of the small mass-loss rate of the B star component in WR86, the wind collision region must be closer to the B star and smaller in effective area, hence generating smaller amounts of non-thermal radio emission. Absolute magnitudes for all the stars are estimated based on the spectral types of the components (based on the tables by Schmidt-Kaler for OB stars, and van der Hucht for WR stars), and compared with actual, observed magnitude differences. While the derived luminosities for the WC7 and B0 III stars in WR86 are consistent with the observed magnitude difference, we find a discrepancy of at least 1.5 magnitudes between the observed luminosities of the components in each of WR146 and WR147 and the absolute magnitudes expected from their spectral types. In both cases, it looks as though either the WR components are about 2 magnitudes too bright for their spectral types, or that the O components are about 2 magnitudes too faint. We discuss possible explanations for this apparent discrepancy.

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