Mathematics – Probability
Scientific paper
Dec 2006
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2006aas...20924107k&link_type=abstract
2007 AAS/AAPT Joint Meeting, American Astronomical Society Meeting 209, #241.07; Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society,
Mathematics
Probability
Scientific paper
We observed thirteen very low mass (VLM; M < 0.2 M&sun;) objects in the Taurus star-forming region using near-infrared diffraction-limited imaging techniques on the W.M. Keck I 10 m telescope. Of these thirteen, five were found to be binary, with separations ranging from 0".04 to 0".6 and flux ratios from 1.4 to 3.7. In all cases, the companions are highly likely to be physically associated (probability $> 4σ). Using the theoretical models of Baraffe et al. (1998), we find that all five new companions, as well as one of the primaries, are likely brown dwarfs. The discovery of these systems therefore increases the total number of known, young VLM binaries by ≈50%. These new systems, along with other young VLM binaries from the literature, have properties that differ significantly from older field VLM binaries in that the young systems have wider separations and lower mass ratios, supporting the idea that VLM binaries undergo significant dynamical evolution ≈5 10 Myr after their formation. The range of separations of these binaries, four of which are over 30 AU, argues against the ejection scenario of brown dwarf formation. While several of the young, VLM binaries discovered in this study have lower binding energies than the previously suggested minimum for VLM binaries, the apparent minimum is still significantly higher than that found among higher mass binaries. We therefore suggest that a possible cause of this discrepancy may be a preference for VLM objects to form in unstable higher order multiple systems. This work is supported by NASA Astrobiology Institute, the NSF Science & Technology Center for AO, managed by UCSC (AST-9876783), and the Packard Foundation. QMK is supported by the NASA Graduate Student Research Program (NNG05-GM05H) through JPL.
Ghez Andrea M.
Konopacky Quinn M.
Rice Emily L.
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