The luminosity function of low-mass stars and brown dwarfs

Details The luminosity function of low-mass stars and brown dwarfs The luminosity function of low-mass stars and brown dwarfs

Sep 2004

adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2004phdt........17c&link_type=abstract

Thesis (PhD). UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA, Source DAI-B 65/03, p. 1364, Sep 2004, 176 pages.

Physics

3

Scientific paper

We present a search for low-mass stars and brown dwarfs in the Solar Neighborhood using the Two Micron All-Sky Survey (2MASS) Second Incremental Data Release. We have created a statistically robust, volume-limited sample of M7-L8 dwarfs within 20 pc of the Sun using near-infrared color-color and color-magnitude constraints. We detail the construction of this sample, dubbed 2MU2, and extensive, low-resolution far-red spectroscopic follow-up of candidates. These spectroscopic observations yield spectral type estimates which enable us to confirm candidates as nearby ultracool dwarfs. Spectral type is used as a predictor of MJ, which is combined with 2MASS J-band photometry to obtain spectrophotometric distances. In the course of this program, we have discovered of 261 late-M dwarfs and 94 L dwarfs—56 of these are within 20 pc, more than doubling the local census. We combine these data with previously known objects to make the first, statistically robust estimate the luminosity function of ultracool dwarfs in the Solar Neighborhood. This result is the first quantitative measurement of the turnaround in the luminosity function of ultracool dwarfs at faint magnitudes and is a confirmation of theoretical predictions. Finally, we discuss the implications of this work and our future prospects.

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