Primeval very low-mass stars and brown dwarfs - VI. Population properties of metal-poor degenerate brown dwarfs

Zhang, Z. H.; Burgasser, A. J.; Gálvez-Ortiz, M. C.; Lodieu, N.; Zapatero Osorio, M. R.; Pinfield, D. J.; Allard, F.
Bibliographical reference

Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, Volume 486, Issue 1, p.1260-1282

Advertised on:
6
2019
Number of authors
7
IAC number of authors
1
Citations
31
Refereed citations
28
Description
We presented 15 new T dwarfs that were selected from UKIRT Infrared Deep Sky Survey, Visible and Infrared Survey Telescope for Astronomy , and Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer surveys, and confirmed with optical to near-infrared spectra obtained with the Very Large Telescope and the Gran Telescopio Canarias. One of these new T dwarfs is mildly metal-poor with slightly suppressed K-band flux. We presented a new X-shooter spectrum of a known benchmark sdT5.5 subdwarf, HIP 73786B. To better understand observational properties of brown dwarfs, we discussed transition zones (mass ranges) with low-rate hydrogen, lithium, and deuterium burning in brown dwarf population. The hydrogen burning transition zone is also the substellar transition zone that separates very low-mass stars, transitional, and degenerate brown dwarfs. Transitional brown dwarfs have been discussed in previous works of the Primeval series. Degenerate brown dwarfs without hydrogen fusion are the majority of brown dwarfs. Metal-poor degenerate brown dwarfs of the Galactic thick disc and halo have become T5+ subdwarfs. We selected 41 T5+ subdwarfs from the literature by their suppressed K-band flux. We studied the spectral-type-colour correlations, spectral-type-absolute magnitude correlations, colour-colour plots, and HR diagrams of T5+ subdwarfs, in comparison to these of L-T dwarfs and L subdwarfs. We discussed the T5+ subdwarf discovery capability of deep sky surveys in the 2020s.
Related projects
Discovery of a system of super-Earths orbiting the star HD 176986 with about 5.7 and 9.2 Earth masses.
Very Low Mass Stars, Brown Dwarfs and Planets
Our goal is to study the processes that lead to the formation of low mass stars, brown dwarfs and planets and to characterize the physical properties of these objects in various evolutionary stages. Low mass stars and brown dwarfs are likely the most numerous type of objects in our Galaxy but due to their low intrinsic luminosity they are not so
Rafael
Rebolo López
Projects' name image
Exoplanets and Astrobiology
The search for life in the universe has been driven by recent discoveries of planets around other stars (known as exoplanets), becoming one of the most active fields in modern astrophysics. The growing number of new exoplanets discovered in recent years and the recent advance on the study of their atmospheres are not only providing new valuable
Enric
Pallé Bago