New SpeX Observations of M7-L6 Dwarfs

DOI

Multiplicity is a key statistic for understanding the formation of very low mass (VLM) stars and brown dwarfs. Currently, the separation distribution of VLM binaries remains poorly constrained at small separations (<=1 AU), leading to uncertainty in the overall binary fraction. We approach this problem by searching for late-M/early-L plus T dwarf spectral binaries whose combined light spectra exhibit distinct peculiarities, allowing for separation-independent identification. We define a set of spectral indices designed to identify these systems, and we use a spectral template fitting method to confirm and characterize spectral binary candidates from a library of 815 spectra from the SpeX Prism Spectral Libraries. We present 11 new binary candidates, confirm 3 previously reported candidates, and rule out 2 previously identified candidates, all with primary and secondary spectral types in the range M7-L7 and T1-T8, respectively. We find that subdwarfs and blue L dwarfs are the primary contaminants in our sample and propose a method for segregating these sources. If confirmed by follow-up observations, these systems may add to the growing list of tight separation binaries, whose orbital properties may yield further insight into brown dwarf formation scenarios.

Cone search capability for table J/ApJ/794/143/table2 (New SpeX Observations of M7-L6 Dwarfs)

Identifier
DOI http://doi.org/10.26093/cds/vizier.17940143
Source https://dc.g-vo.org/rr/q/lp/custom/CDS.VizieR/J/ApJ/794/143
Related Identifier https://cdsarc.cds.unistra.fr/viz-bin/cat/J/ApJ/794/143
Related Identifier https://vizier.cds.unistra.fr/viz-bin/VizieR-2?-source=J/ApJ/794/143
Metadata Access http://dc.g-vo.org/rr/q/pmh/pubreg.xml?verb=GetRecord&metadataPrefix=oai_b2find&identifier=ivo://CDS.VizieR/J/ApJ/794/143
Provenance
Creator Bardalez Gagliuffi D.C.; Burgasser A.J.; Gelino C.R.; Looper D.L.,Nicholls C.P.; Schmidt S.J.; Cruz K.; West A.A.; Gizis J.E.; Metchev S.
Publisher CDS
Publication Year 2017
Rights https://cds.unistra.fr/vizier-org/licences_vizier.html
OpenAccess true
Contact CDS support team <cds-question(at)unistra.fr>
Representation
Resource Type Dataset; AstroObjects
Discipline Astrophysics and Astronomy; Natural Sciences; Observational Astronomy; Physics; Stellar Astronomy