Astronomy and Astrophysics – Astronomy
Scientific paper
Feb 1997
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=1997apj...476..311k&link_type=abstract
Astrophysical Journal v.476, p.311
Astronomy and Astrophysics
Astronomy
66
Infrared: Stars, Stars: Late-Type, Stars: Low-Mass, Brown Dwarfs, Surveys
Scientific paper
We have obtained follow-up spectroscopy of eight late dwarf candidates discovered in a 105 deg2 area observed with the 2MASS Prototype Camera during test runs between 1992 and 1994. These objects were chosen because of their red infrared colors (e.g., J-Ks >= 1.10) and/or red OIR colors (e.g., R-Ks >= 6.00). All eight are late M dwarfs, six of which have spectral types later than van Biesbroeck 8 (type M7 V). Despite the fact that we have only followed up a fraction of the reddest sources discovered, the number of known M dwarfs of type M7 and cooler has been increased by 30%. Extrapolation of these results alone shows that over 2000 dwarfs of similar spectral type and with Ks <= 14.0 will be imaged by 2MASS over the entire sky. One of these new discoveries is astonishingly cool and has a tentative type of >=M10 V. This dwarf, one of the least luminous objects yet discovered, could itself be a high-mass brown dwarf, thus providing another empirical data point in a regime where few such objects are now recognized. Only the substellar suspect GD 165 B and the bona fide brown dwarf GL 229 B, both discovered as companions to known stars, are cooler. Thus, this 2MASS discovery becomes the coolest isolated object so far identified.
Beichman Charles Arnold
Kirkpatrick Joseph D.
Skrutskie Michael F.
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