Physics – Optics
Scientific paper
Dec 2007
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2007aas...211.3002m&link_type=abstract
American Astronomical Society, AAS Meeting #211, #30.02; Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society, Vol. 39, p.781
Physics
Optics
Scientific paper
We present results from a multi-year direct imaging campaign to search for sub-stellar companions to young Sun-like stars with adaptive optics. Previous results from this program include the determination of the fraction of Sun-like stars harboring wide sub-stellar companions and the discovery of the first young L/T transition brown dwarf. In our present analysis we focus on the mass function (MF) of wide companions to Sun-like stars. We find that it differs significantly from the MF of isolated objects, in the sense that the relative frequency of low-mass companions is lower. Unlike the log-normal shape of the MF of isolated stars and brown dwarfs, our data reveal that the MF of wide (28-1590 AU) secondaries is best described by an exponential relation, dN/dM2 M2-0.3, over the entire 0.01 < M2 < 1.0 MSun companion mass range. Based on this conclusion and on similar results from previous direct imaging and radial velocity surveys, we argue for a universal behavior of the companion mass function over the entire range between 0-1590 AU in orbital semi-major axis and 0.01-20 MSun in companion mass. In this context, the relative dearth of brown dwarf secondaries in any orbit arises naturally from the companion MF. An extrapolation of our results into the planetary-mass regime indicates that widely separated giant planets, potential targets of future high-contrast imaging surveys, are very rare.
Hillenbrand Lynne
Metchev Stanimir A.
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