2016ApJ...819...17O -
Astrophys. J., 819, 17 (2016/March-1)
Searching for binary Y dwarfs with the Gemini multi-conjugate adaptive optics system (GeMS).
OPITZ D., TINNEY C.G., FAHERTY J.K., SWEET S., GELINO C.R. and KIRKPATRICK J.D.
Abstract (from CDS):
The NASA Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) has discovered almost all the known members of the new class of Y-type brown dwarfs. Most of these Y dwarfs have been identified as isolated objects in the field. It is known that binaries with L- and T-type brown dwarf primaries are less prevalent than either M-dwarf or solar-type primaries, they tend to have smaller separations and are more frequently detected in near-equal mass configurations. The binary statistics for Y-type brown dwarfs, however, are sparse, and so it is unclear if the same trends that hold for L- and T-type brown dwarfs also hold for Y-type ones. In addition, the detection of binary companions to very cool Y dwarfs may well be the best means available for discovering even colder objects. We present results for binary properties of a sample of five WISE Y dwarfs with the Gemini Multi-Conjugate Adaptive Optics System. We find no evidence for binary companions in these data, which suggests these systems are not equal-luminosity (or equal-mass) binaries with separations larger than ∼0.5-1.9 AU. For equal-mass binaries at an age of 5 Gyr, we find that the binary binding energies ruled out by our observations (i.e., 1042 erg) are consistent with those observed in previous studies of hotter ultra-cool dwarfs.
Abstract Copyright:
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Journal keyword(s):
binaries: general - brown dwarfs - methods: observational - stars: low-mass - techniques: image processing
Simbad objects:
6
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