THE BROWN DWARF KINEMATICS PROJECT (BDKP). IV. RADIAL VELOCITIES OF 85 LATE-M AND L DWARFS WITH MagE
- Center for Astrophysics and Space Science, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093 (United States)
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, UCLA, 430 Portola Plaza, Box 951547, Los Angeles, CA 90095-1547 (United States)
- Institute for Research on Exoplanets (iREx), Université de Montréal, Département de Physique, C.P. 6128 Succ. Centre-ville, Montréal, QC H3C 3J7 (Canada)
- Rider University, 2083 Lawrenceville Road, Lawrenceville, NJ 08648 (United States)
- Department of Terrestrial Magnetism, Carnegie Institution of Washington, Washington, DC 20015 (United States)
- Department of Astronomy, Boston University, 725 Commonwealth Avenue Boston, MA 02215 (United States)
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY 14627 (United States)
- Department of Astronomy, Ohio State University, 140 West 18th Avenue, Columbus, OH 43210 (United States)
Radial velocity measurements are presented for 85 late M- and L-type very low-mass stars and brown dwarfs obtained with the Magellan Echellette spectrograph. Targets primarily have distances within 20 pc of the Sun, with more distant sources selected for their unusual spectral energy distributions. We achieved precisions of 2–3 km s{sup −1}, and combined these with astrometric and spectrophotometric data to calculate UVW velocities. Most are members of the thin disk of the Galaxy, and velocity dispersions indicate a mean age of 5.2 ± 0.2 Gyr for sources within 20 pc. We find signficantly different kinematic ages between late-M dwarfs (4.0 ± 0.2 Gyr) and L dwarfs (6.5 ± 0.4 Gyr) in our sample that are contrary to predictions from prior simulations. This difference appears to be driven by a dispersed population of unusually blue L dwarfs which may be more prevalent in our local volume-limited sample than in deeper magnitude-limited surveys. The L dwarfs exhibit an asymmetric U velocity distribution with a net inward flow, similar to gradients recently detected in local stellar samples. Simulations incorporating brown dwarf evolution and Galactic orbital dynamics are unable to reproduce the velocity asymmetry, suggesting non-axisymmetric perturbations or two distinct L dwarf populations. We also find the L dwarfs to have a kinematic age-activity correlation similar to more massive stars. We identify several sources with low surface gravities, and two new substellar candidate members of nearby young moving groups: the astrometric binary DENIS J08230313–4912012AB, a low-probability member of the β Pictoris Moving Group; and 2MASS J15104786–2818174, a moderate-probability member of the 30–50 Myr Argus Association.
- OSTI ID:
- 22520122
- Journal Information:
- Astrophysical Journal, Supplement Series, Vol. 220, Issue 1; Other Information: Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 0067-0049
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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