The stellar mass function at low luminosities

Astronomy and Astrophysics – Astrophysics

Scientific paper

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Cool Stars, Late Stars, Mass To Light Ratios, Stellar Luminosity, Stellar Mass, Brown Dwarf Stars, Hertzsprung-Russell Diagram, Mass Distribution, Missing Mass (Astrophysics), Stellar Magnitude

Scientific paper

The most recent studies of the stellar luminosity function have been combined to derive the mass function for stars in the mass range less than 1.0 and greater than l0.08 solar mass. The analysis shows the importance of using bolometric magnitudes in investigations of cool, late-type stars. The well-established 'Wielen dip' at M(V) approximately equal to + 7 carries over into the bolometric function, which peaks at Mbol approximately equal to + 9.5. However, evidence is also found for a second minimum at Mbol approximately equal to + 12.5 and a subsequent rise to fainter luminosities. The stellar mass-luminosity relation is poorly defined at these luminosities, but the continuity of the HR diagram provides a strong argument that none of the isolated low-luminosity stars found to date are brown dwarfs. Under this interpretation, the observed mass density locally is about 0.09 solar mass per cu pc and the missing mass remains unfound.

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