We present multi-wavelength optical and infrared photometry of 170 previously known low mass stars and brown dwarfs of the 5 Myr Collinder 69 cluster (Lambda Orionis). The new photometry supports cluster membership for most of them, with less than 15% of the previous candidates identified as probable non-members. The near infrared photometry allows us to identify stars with IR excesses, and we find that the Class II population is very large, around 25% for stars (in the spectral range M0 - M6.5) and 40% for brown dwarfs, down to 0.04 Msun, despite the fact that the H(alpha) equivalent width is low for a significant fraction of them. In addition, there are a number of substellar objects, classified as Class III, that have optically thin disks. The Class II members are distributed in an inhomogeneous way, lying preferentially in a filament running toward the south-east. The IR excesses for the Collinder 69 members range from pure Class II (flat or nearly flat spectra longward of 1 micron), to transition disks with no near-IR excess but excesses beginning within the IRAC wavelength range, to two stars with excess only detected at 24 micron. Collinder 69 thus appears to be at an age where it provides a natural laboratory for the study of primordial disks and their dissipation.
We present 5-35 $μ$m spectra, taken with the Infrared Spectrograph (IRS) on the Spitzer Space Telescope, of five FU Orionis objects: FU Ori, V1515 Cyg, V1057 Cyg, BBW 76, and V346 Nor. All but V346 Nor reveal amorphous silicate grains in emission at 10 $μ$m and 20 $μ$m, and show water-vapor absorption bands at 5.8 and 6.8 $μ$m and SiO or possibly methane absorption at 8 $μ$m. These absorption features closely match these bands in model stellar photospheres -- signs of the gaseous photospheres of the inner regions of these objects' accretion disks. The continuum emission at 5-8 $μ$m is also con…
The young sigma Orionis cluster is an indispensable basis for understanding the formation and evolution of stars, brown dwarfs and planetary-mass objects. Our knowledge of its stellar population is, however, incomplete. I present the Mayrit catalogue, that comprises most of the stars and high-mass brown dwarfs of the cluster. The basis of this work is an optical-near infrared correlation between the 2MASS and DENIS catalogues in a circular area of radius 30 arcmin centred on the OB-type binary sigma Ori AB. The analysis is supported on a bibliographic search of confirmed cluster members with f…
Studies of disks around young brown dwarfs are of paramount importance to our understanding of the origin, diversity and early evolution of sub-stellar objects. Here we present first results from a systematic search for disk emission in a spectroscopically confirmed sample of young objects near or below the sub-stellar boundary in a variety of star-forming regions. Our VLT and Keck L'-band observations of the sigma Orionis and TW Hydrae associations suggest that if a majority of brown dwarfs are born with disks, at least the inner regions of those disks evolve rapidly, possibly clearing out wi…
We present mid-infrared Spitzer-IRS spectra of the well-known UX Orionis star VV Ser. We combine the Spitzer data with interferometric and spectroscopic data from the literature covering UV to submillimeter wavelengths. The full set of data are modeled by a two-dimensional axisymmetric Monte Carlo radiative transfer code. The model is used to test the prediction of (Dullemond et al. 2003) that disks around UX Orionis stars must have a self-shadowed shape, and that these disks are seen nearly edge-on, looking just over the edge of a puffed-up inner rim, formed roughly at the dust sublimation ra…
The young sigma Orionis cluster in the Orion Belt is an incomparable site for studying the formation and evolution of high-mass, solar-like, and low-mass stars, brown dwarfs, and substellar objects below the deuterium burning mass limit. The first version of the Mayrit catalogue was a thorough data compilation of cluster members and candidates, which is regularly used by many authors of different disciplines. I show two new applications of the catalogue and advance preliminar results on very wide binarity and the initial mass function from 18 to 0.035 Msol in sigma Orionis. The making-up of a …
We investigate the mass function in the substellar domain down to a few Jupiter masses in the young sigma Orionis open cluster (3+/-2 Ma, d = 360^+70_-60 pc). We have performed a deep IJ-band search, covering an area of 790 arcmin^2 close to the cluster centre. This survey was complemented with an infrared follow-up in the HKs- and Spitzer 3.6-8.0 mum-bands. Using colour-magnitude diagrams, we have selected 49 candidate cluster members in the magnitude interval 16.1 mag < I < 23.0 mag. Accounting for flux excesses at 8.0 mum and previously known spectral features of youth, 30 objects are bona …
We present optical spectroscopy of 71 photometric candidate low-mass members of the cluster associated with Sigma Orionis. Thirty-five of these are found to pass the lithium test and hence are confirmed as true cluster members, covering a mass range of <0.055-0.3M_{sun}, assuming a mean cluster age of <5 Myr. We find evidence for an age spread on the (I, I-J) colour magnitude diagram, members appearing to lie in the range 1-7 Myr. There are, however, a significant fraction of candidates that are non-members, including some previously identified as members based on photometry alone. We see some…
We report new Spitzer Space Telescope observations from the IRAC and MIPS instruments of the young (~ 3 Myr) sigma Orionis cluster. We identify 336 stars as members of the cluster using optical and near-infrared color magnitude diagrams. Using the spectral energy distribution (SED) slopes in the IRAC spectral range, we place objects in several classes: non-excess stars, stars with optically thick disks(like classical T Tauri stars), class I (protostellar) candidates, and stars with ``evolved disks''; the last exhibit smaller IRAC excesses than optically thick disk systems. In general, this cla…
We report on the analysis of 2MASS near-infrared data of a sample of low-mass stars and brown dwarfs in the sigma Orionis cluster. Youth and cluster membership have been spectroscopically confirmed using the Li I spectral line. We find little evidence in the JHKs colour-colour diagram for near-infrared excess emission for these cluster members. By comparison with model expectations, at most 2 out of 34 stars show (H-K) colour consistent with a near-infrared excess. This scarcity of near-infrared signatures of circumstellar disks in the lower-mass and substellar regimes of this cluster contrast…
I have re-visited the spatial distribution of stars and high-mass brown dwarfs in the sigma Orionis cluster (~3 Ma, ~360 pc). The input was a catalogue of 340 cluster members and candidates at separations less than 30 arcmin to sigma Ori AB. Of them, 70 % have features of extreme youth. I fitted the normalised cumulative number of objects counting from the cluster centre to several power-law, exponential and King radial distributions. The cluster seems to have two components: a dense core that extends from the centre to r ~ 20 arcmin and a rarified halo at larger separations. The radial distri…
We have carried out an extensive search for X-ray emission from young, very low-mass objects near and beyond the substellar limit, making use of archived ROSAT PSPC and HRI observations pointed at Brown Dwarfs and Brown Dwarf candidates in the young sigma Orionis and Taurus-Auriga associations. In sigma Ori we identify three Brown Dwarf candidates with X-ray sources; in Taurus-Auriga we add one further X-ray detection of a Brown Dwarf to the list published earlier. We combine this data with all previously X-ray detected Brown Dwarfs and Brown Dwarf candidates in young stellar associations and …
We present intermediate- and low-resolution optical spectra around Halpha and LiI 6708 A for a sample of 25 low mass stars and 2 brown dwarfs with confirmed membership in the pre-main sequence stellar sigma Orionis cluster. Our observations are intended to investigate the age of the cluster. The spectral types derived for our target sample are found to be in the range K6-M8.5, which corresponds to a mass interval of roughly 1.2-0.02 Msun on the basis of state-of-the-art evolutionary models. Radial velocities (except for one object) are found to be consistent with membership in the Orion comple…
Nearby young clusters are privileged places to study the star formation history. Over the last decade, the sigma-Orionis cluster has been a prime location for the study of young very low mass stars, substellar and isolated planetary mass objects and the determination of the initial mass function. To extend previous studies of this association to its core, we searched for ultracool members and new multiple systems within the 1.5'x1.5' central region of the cluster. We obtained deep multi-conjugate adaptive optics (MCAO) images of the core of the sigma-Orionis cluster with the prototype MCAO fac…
We have carried out multi-epoch, time-series differential I-band photometry of a large sample of objects in the south-east region of the young (~3 Myr), nearby (~350 pc) sigma Orionis open cluster. A field of ~1000 arcmin^2 was monitored during four nights over a period of two years. Using this dataset, we have studied the photometric variability of twenty-eight brown dwarf cluster candidates with masses ranging from the stellar-substellar boundary down to the planetary-mass domain. We have found that about 50% of the sample show photometric variability on timescales from less than one hour to…
The recent detection by direct imaging of three giant planets at wide separation (50-250 AU) from their primaries has raised the question about the ``true isolation'' of planetary-mass objects in clusters. Our goal was to test the possibility that some free-floating planetary-mass object could in fact be part of wide planetary systems. We searched in the literature for stellar and brown-dwarf member candidates of the sigma Orionis cluster at small angular separations from published candidate planetary-mass objects. We found one candidate planetary system, SE 70, composed of an X-ray source and…
We present an RI photometric survey covering an area of 430 arcmin^2 around the multiple star Sigma Orionis. The observations were conducted with the 0.8 m IAC-80 Telescope at the Teide Observatory. The survey limiting R and I magnitudes are 22.5 and 21, and completeness magnitudes 21 and 20, respectively. We have selected 53 candidates from the I vs. R-I colour-magnitude diagram (I=14-20) that follow the previously known photometric sequence of the cluster. Adopting an age of 2-4 Myr for the cluster, we find that these objects span a mass range from 0.35 Msol to 0.015 Msol. We have performed …
Aims: We investigated in detail nine sources in the direction of the young sigma Orionis cluster, which is considered a unique site for studying stellar and substellar formation. The nine sources were selected because of some peculiar properties, such as extremely red infrared colours or too strong Halpha emission for their blue optical colours. Methods: We took high-quality, low-resolution spectroscopy (R ~ 500) of the nine targets with ALFOSC at the Nordic Optical Telescope. We also re-analyzed [24]-band photometry from MIPS/Spitzer and compiled the best photometry available at the ViJHKs pa…
We have performed a census of disks around brown dwarfs in the Sigma Ori cluster using all available images from IRAC onboard the Spitzer Space Telescope. To search for new low-mass cluster members with disks, we have measured photometry for all sources in the Spitzer images and have identified the ones that have red colors that are indicative of disks. We present 5 promising candidates, which may consist of 2 brown dwarfs, 2 stars with edge-on disks, and a low-mass protostar if they are bona fide members. Spectroscopy is needed to verify the nature of these sources. We have also used the Spit…
(Abridged). We have conducted deep photometric searches for substellar members of the Praesepe (0.5-1 Gyr) and sigma Orionis (3 Myr) star clusters using the Sloan i' and z' filters, the 3.5-m and the 5-m Hale telescopes on the Calar Alto and Palomar Observatories, respectively. The total area surveyed was 1177 arcmin^2 (Praesepe) and 1122 arcmin^2 (sigma Orionis) down to 5-sigma detection limits of i'= 24.5 and z'= 24 mag, corresponding to masses of 50-55 M_Jup (Praesepe) and 6 M_Jup (sigma Orionis). Besides recovering previously known cluster members reported in the literature, we have identi…
Intermediate resolution (R=7000) spectroscopy is presented for 76 photometrically selected very low mass (0.04<M<0.3M_{sun}) candidate members of the Sigma Orionis cluster. More than two thirds appear to be genuine cluster members on the basis of Li I absorption, weak Na I features and radial velocities. Photometric selection alone therefore appears to be very effective in identifying cluster members in this mass range. Only 6 objects appear to be certain non-members, however a substantial subset of 13 have ambiguous or contradictory indications of membership and lack Li absorption. Four candi…
We present a CCD-based photometric survey covering 870 sq. arcmin in a young stellar cluster around the young multiple star sigma Orionis. Our survey limiting R, I, and Z magnitudes are 23.2, 21.8, and 21.0, respectively. From our colour-magnitude diagrams, we have selected 49 faint objects, which smoothly extrapolate the photometric sequence defined by more massive known members. Adopting the currently accepted age interval of 2-10 Myr for the Orion 1b association and considering recent evolutionary models, our objects may span a mass range from 0.1 down to 0.02 Msun, well within the substell…
By collecting optical and infrared photometry and low resolution spectroscopy, we have identified a large number of low mass stars and brown dwarf candidates belonging to the young cluster (~5 Myr) associated with the binary star lambda Orionis. The lowest mass object found is a M8.5 with an estimated mass of 0.02 Msun (~0.01 Msun for objects without spectroscopic confirmation). For those objects with spectroscopy, the measured strength of the Halpha emission line follows a distribution similar to other clusters with the same age range, with larger equivalent widths for cooler spectral types. …
We present the first results on variability of very low mass stars and brown dwarfs belonging to the 5 Myr Lambda Orionis cluster (Collinder 69). We have monitored almost continuously in the J filter a small area of the cluster which includes 12 possible members of the cluster during one night. Some members have turned to be short-term variable. One of them, LOri167, has a mass close to the planetary mass limit and its variability might be due to instabilities produced by the deuterium burning, although other mechanism cannot be ruled out.
We present new Spitzer Space Telescope observations of two fields in the Orion OB1 association. We report here IRAC/MIPS observations for 115 confirmed members and 41 photometric candidates of the ~10 Myr 25 Orionis aggregate in the OB1a subassociation, and 106 confirmed members and 65 photometric candidates of the 5 Myr region located in the OB1b subassociation. The 25 Orionis aggregate shows a disk frequency of 6% while the field in the OB1b subassociation shows a disk frequency of 13%. Combining IRAC, MIPS and 2MASS photometry we place stars bearing disks in several classes: stars with opti…
We have obtained multi-epoch, high-resolution spectroscopy of 218 candidate low-mass stars and brown dwarfs in the young clusters around sigma Ori and lambda Ori. We find that 196 targets are cluster members based on their radial velocity, the equivalent width of their NaI 8200 lines and the spectral type from their TiO band strength. We have identified 11 new binary stars among the cluster members based on their variable radial velocity and an additional binary from the variation in its line width and shape. The sample covers the magnitude range Ic=14-18.9 (mass =~ 0.55-0.03 Msun), but all of…
We combine results from imaging searches for substellar objects in the sigma Orionis cluster and follow-up photometric and spectroscopic observations to derive a census of the brown dwarf population in a region of 847 arcmin^2. We identify 64 very low-mass cluster member candidates in this region. We have available three color (IZJ) photometry for all of them, spectra for 9 objects, and K photometry for 27% of our sample. These data provide a well defined sequence in the I vs I-J, I-K color magnitude diagrams, and indicate that the cluster is affected by little reddening despite its young age …
We have used precise radial velocity measurements for a large number of candidate low-mass stars and brown dwarfs, to show that the young Sigma Ori ``cluster'' consists of two spatially superimposed components which are kinematically separated by 7 km/s in radial velocity, and which have different mean ages. We examine the relationship of these two kinematic groups to other populations in the Orion OB1 association and briefly discuss the consequence of mixed age samples for ongoing investigations of the formation and evolution of low-mass objects in this much-observed region.
The nearby young sigma Orionis cluster (~360 pc, ~3 Ma) is becoming one of the most important regions for the study of ultra low-mass star formation and its extension down to the mass regimes of the brown dwarfs and planetary-mass objects. Here, I introduce the sigma Orionis cluster and present three studies that the JOVIAN group is developing: a pilot programme of near-infrared adaptive-optics imaging, intermediate-resolution optical spectroscopy of a large sample of stars of the cluster and a study of the mass function down to the planetary-mass domain. This paper is a summary of the content…
Aims: We look for new regions for the search of substellar objects. Methods: Two circular areas, 45 arcmin-radius each, centred on the young massive star systems Alnilam and Mintaka in the Orion Belt, have been explored. The regions are very young (less than 10 Ma), have low extinction, and are neighbours to sigma Orionis (~3 Ma), a young open cluster very rich in brown dwarfs and planetary-mass objects. We have used Virtual Observatory tools, the astro-photometric Tycho-2, DENIS and 2MASS catalogues, 10 control fields at similar galactic latitudes, and X-ray, mid-infrared and spectroscopic da…
We present Spitzer IRAC and IRS observations of the dark cloud L1287. The mid-infrared (MIR) IRAC images show deeply embedded infrared sources in the vicinity of the FU Orionis objects RNO 1B and RNO 1C suggesting their association with a small young stellar cluster. For the first time we resolve the MIR point source associated with IRAS 00338+6312 which is a deeply embedded intermediate-mass protostar driving a known molecular outflow. The IRAC colors of all objects are consistent with young stars ranging from deeply embedded Class 0/I sources to Class II objects, part of which appear to be l…
The mid- to far-infrared emission of the outbursting FU Orionis objects has been attributed either to a flared outer disk or to an infalling envelope. We revisit this issue using detailed radiative transfer calculations to model the recent, high signal-to-noise data from the IRS instrument on the {Spitzer Space Telescope}. In the case of FU Ori, we find that a physically-plausible flared disk irradiated by the central accretion disk matches the observations. Building on our previous work, our accretion disk model with outer disk irradiation by the inner disk reproduces the spectral energy dist…
(Abridged) The nature of S Ori 70, a faint mid-T type object found towards the direction of the young sigma Orionis cluster, is still under debate. We intend to disentangle whether it is a field brown dwarf or a 3-Myr old planetary-mass member of the cluster. We report on near-infrared JHK_s and mid-infrared [3.6] and [4.5] IRAC/Spitzer photometry recently obtained for S Ori 70. The new near-infrared images (taken 3.82 yr after the discovery data) have allowed us to derive a very small proper motion (11.0 +/- 5.9 mas/yr) for this object, which is consistent with the proper motion of the cluste…
Context: The very young sigma Orionis cluster (about 3 Ma) is a cornerstone for the understanding of the formation of stars and substellar objects down to planetary masses. However, its stellar population is far to be completely known. Aims: This study has the purpose of identyfing and characterising the most massive stars of sigma Orionis to complement current and future deep searches for brown dwarfs and planetary-mass objects in the cluster. Methods: I have cross-correlated the sources in the Tycho and 2MASS catalogues in a region of 30 arcmin radius with centre in the O-type star sigma Ori…
The young $σ$-Orionis cluster is an important location for understanding the formation and evolution of stars, brown dwarfs, and planetary-mass objects. Its metallicity, although being a fundamental parameter, has not been well determined yet. We present the first determination of the metallicity of nine young late-type stars in $σ$-Orionis. Using the optical and near-infrared broadband photometry available in the literature we derive the effective temperatures for these nine cluster stars, which lie in the interval 4300--6500 K (1--3 \Msuno). These parameters are employed to compute a grid of…
Using the Infrared Array Camera (IRAC) aboard the Spitzer Space Telescope, we have obtained mid-infrared photometry of the least massive known brown dwarf in the Chamaeleon I star-forming region. For this young brown dwarf, OTS 44, we have constructed a spectral energy distribution (SED) from 0.8-8 um by combining the measurements at 3.6, 4.5, 5.8, and 8.0 um from IRAC with ground-based photometry at I, J, H, and K. The resulting SED for OTS 44 exhibits significant excess emission longward of 3 um relative to the SED expected from the photosphere of the brown dwarf. We have successfully modele…
Aims: The objective of this study is to determine the general X-ray properties of the young stars in the external regions of the sigma Orionis cluster (tau ~ 3 Ma, d ~ 385 pc) and yield constraints on the X-ray emission of brown dwarfs. Methods: We carried out a careful analysis of public data taken in an unexplored region to the west of the centre of the cluster with the three EPIC cameras onboard the XMM-Newton mission. We looked for new X-ray young stars among the 41 identified X-ray sources in the area with maximum likelihood parameters L > 15 by cross-correlation with the USNO-B1, DENIS, …
We report differential I-band and J-band photometry of S Ori 45, a cool (M8.5), young (1-8 Myr) brown dwarf of the sigma Orionis cluster with a likely mass estimated at around 20 times the mass of Jupiter. We detect variability (amplitudes ranging from 34 to 81 mmag) and observe a modulation at a period of 2.5-3.6 h in both optical and near-infrared light curves. The most recent optical data set, however, presents a modulation at the very short period of 46.4+/-1.5 min, which remains a mystery. The origin of the 2.5-3.6 h modulation is analized in terms of various scenarios: inhomogeneous feat…
We report very intense and variable Halpha emission (pseudo-equivalent widths of ~180, 410 A) of S Ori 55, a probable free-floating, M9-type substellar member of the young sigma Orionis open star cluster. After comparison with state-of-the-art evolutionary models, we infer that S Ori 55 is near or below the cluster deuterium-burning mass borderline, which separates brown dwarfs and planetary-mass objects. We find its mass to be 0.008-0.015 Msun for ages between 1 Myr and 8 Myr, with ~0.012 Msun the most likely value at the cluster age of 3 Myr. The largest Halpha intensity reached the saturati…
We present Spitzer Space Telescope observations of two TW Hydrae Association brown dwarfs, 2MASSW J1207334-393254 and 2MASSW J1139511-315921, in the IRAC and MIPS 24 micron bands. Based on their IRAC colors, we have classified them as Classical and Weak-line T Tauri stars, respectively. For 2MASSW J1207334-393254, we have found that a flat disk model fits the data very well. This brown dwarf shows the presence of warm (T > 100 K) circumstellar dust close (R < 0.2 AU) to it, and does not display any signs of cleansing of dust within several AU of the star. In comparison with other TWA members t…
Using SpeX at the NASA Infrared Telescope Facility and the Spitzer Infrared Spectrograph, we have obtained infrared spectra from 0.7 to 30um for three young brown dwarfs in the TW Hydra Association (~10 Myr), 2M J1207-3932, 2M J1139-3159, and SS J1102-3431. The spectral energy distribution for 2M J1139-3159 is consistent with a stellar photosphere for the entire wavelength range of our data while the other two objects exhibit significant excess emission at >5um. We are able to reproduce the excess emission from each brown dwarf using our models of irradiated accretion disks. According to our m…
The sigma Orionis cluster is a young association evolving under the disruptive influence of its massive O-star namesake. We are analysing this cluster as part of a program to characterise the influence of O-stars on the early stages of stellar evolution. At an age of approximately 4 Myr, this cluster is at a crucial stage in terms of disk evolution and therefore it is a key case to better constrain disk dissipation timescales. We have obtained RI photometry and optical spectroscopy of the sigma Ori cluster; we have analysed the Li I and Na I features to establish cluster membership. We have th…
We examine recent claims that the T-type brown dwarf S Ori 053810.1-023626 (S Ori 70) is a spectroscopically verified low mass (3$^{+5}_{-1}$ M$_{Jup}$) member of the 1--8 Myr $σ$ Orionis cluster. Comparative arguments by Mart{í}n & Zapatero Osorio asserting that S Ori 70 exhibits low surface gravity spectral features indicative of youth and low mass are invalidated by the fact that their comparison object was not the field T dwarf 2MASS 0559$-$1404 but rather a nearby background star. Instead, we find that the 1--2.5 $\micron$ spectra of S Ori 70 are well-matched to older (age $\sim$ few Gyr)…
Recent discoveries from red optical proper motion and wide-field near-infrared surveys have uncovered a new population of ultracool subdwarfs, metal-poor stars and brown dwarfs extending into the late-type M, L and possibly T spectral classes. These objects are among the first low-mass stars and brown dwarfs formed in the Galaxy, and are valuable tracers of metallicity effects in low-temperature atmospheres. Like solar metallicity late-type dwarfs, ultracool subdwarfs emit the majority of their emergent flux at infrared wavelengths. Here I discuss how Spitzer observations will contribute to th…
We present observations of a circumstellar disk that is inclined close to edge-on around a young brown dwarf in the Taurus star-forming region. Using data obtained with SpeX at the NASA Infrared Telescope Facility, we find that the slope of the 0.8-2.5 um spectrum of the brown dwarf 2MASS J04381486+2611399 cannot be reproduced with a photosphere reddened by normal extinction. Instead, the slope is consistent with scattered light, indicating that circumstellar material is occulting the brown dwarf. By combining the SpeX data with mid-IR photometry and spectroscopy from the Spitzer Space Telesco…
In this paper I show that the coolest $σ$Orionis cluster planet S Ori 70 is still a strong candidate member despite recent claims by Burgasser et al. that it could be a brown dwarf interloper. The main point of my argument is that the colors of S Ori 70 are significantly different to those of field dwarfs. This object has in fact the reddest $H-K$ color of all known T dwarfs, a clear indication of low gravity according to all published models. In a $J-H$ versus $H-K$ diagram, S Ori 70 lies in the region where models of ultracool dwarfs predict that low gravity objects should be located. I conc…
We report the initial results of the Brown Dwarf Spectroscopic Survey Gravity Project, to study gravity sensitive features as indicators of youth in brown dwarfs. Low-resolution (R~2000) J-band and optical (R~1000) observations using NIRSPEC and LRIS at the W.M. Keck Observatory reveal transitions of TiO, VO, K I, Na I, Cs I, Rb I, CaH, and FeH. By comparing these features in late-type giants and in old field dwarfs we show that they are sensitive to the gravity (g = GM/R^2) of the object. Using low-gravity spectral signatures as age indicators, we observed and analyzed J-band and optical spec…
Because of the intense brightness of the OB-type multiple star system sigma Ori, the low-mass stellar and substellar populations close to the centre of the very young sigma Orionis cluster is poorly know. I present an IJHKs survey in the cluster centre, able to detect from the massive early-type stars down to cluster members below the deuterium burning mass limit. The near-infrared and optical data have been complemented with X-ray imaging. Ten objects have been found for the first time to display high-energy emission. Previously known stars with clear spectroscopic youth indicators and/or X-r…
We present the first mid-infrared spectra of brown dwarfs, together with observations of a low-mass star. Our targets are the M3.5 dwarf GJ 1001A, the L8 dwarf DENIS-P J0255-4700, and the T1/T6 binary system epsilon Indi Ba/Bb. As expected, the mid-infrared spectral morphology of these objects changes rapidly with spectral class due to the changes in atmospheric chemistry resulting from their differing effective temperatures and atmospheric structures. By taking advantage of the unprecedented sensitivity of the Infrared Spectrograph on the Spitzer Space Telescope we have detected the 7.8 micro…
This proceeding summarises the talk of the awardee of the Spanish Astronomical Society award to the the best Spanish thesis in Astronomy and Astrophysics in the two-year period 2006-2007. The thesis required a tremendous observational effort and covered many different topics related to brown dwarfs and exoplanets, such as the study of the mass function in the substellar domain of the young sigma Orionis cluster down to a few Jupiter masses, the relation between the cluster stellar and substellar populations, the accretion discs in cluster brown dwarfs, the frequency of very low-mass companions…
(abridged) We present spectroscopy data for a sample of 14 FUors and 2 TTauri stars observed with the Spitzer Space Telescope or with the Infrared Space Observatory (ISO). Based on the appearance of the 10 micron silicate feature we define 2 categories of FUors. Objects showing the silicate feature in absorption (Category 1) are still embedded in a dusty and icy envelope. The shape of the 10 micron silicate absorption bands is compared to typical dust compositions of the interstellar medium and found to be in general agreement. Only one object (RNO 1B) appears to be too rich in amorphous pyrox…
We have carried out a Spitzer survey for brown dwarf (BD) disks in the ~5 Myr old Upper Scorpius (UpSco) star forming region, using IRS spectroscopy from 8 to 12μm and MIPS photometry at 24μm. Our sample consists of 35 confirmed very low mass members of UpSco. Thirteen objects in this sample show clear excess flux at 24μm, explained by dust emission from a circum-sub-stellar disk. Objects without excess emission either have no disks at all or disks with inner opacity holes of at least ~5 AU radii. Our disk frequency of 37\pm 9% is higher than what has been derived previously for K0-M5 stars in…
In our analysis of {\it Spitzer}/IRS archival data on the stellar and sub-stellar members of the TW Hydrae Association (TWA), we have discovered two new brown dwarf disks: a flat optically thick disk around SSSPM J1102-3431 (SSSPM 1102), and a transition disk around 2MASS J1139511-315921 (2M1139). The disk structure for SSSPM 1102 is found to be very similar to the known brown dwarf disk 2MASSW J1207334-393254 (2M1207), with excess emission observed at wavelengths as short as 5 $\micron$. 2M1139 shows no excess emission shortward of $\sim$20 $\micron$, but flares up at longer wavelengths, and …
We present the results of a search for new members of the Taurus star-forming region using the Infrared Array Camera (IRAC) aboard the Spitzer Space Telescope}. With IRAC images of 29.7 deg^2 of Taurus at 3.6, 4.5, 5.8, and 8.0 um, we have identified sources with red mid-infrared colors indicative of disk-bearing objects and have obtained optical and infrared spectra of 23 of these candidate members. Through this work, we have discovered 13 new members of Taurus, two of which have spectral types later than M6 and thus are likely to be brown dwarfs according to the theoretical evolutionary mode…
We present the first observations of magnetic cataclysmic variables with the Spitzer Space Telescope. We used the Infrared Array Camera to obtain photometry of the polars EF Eri, GG Leo, V347 Pav, and RX J0154.0-5947 at 3.6, 4.5, 5.8, and 8.0 $μ$m. In all of our targets, we detect excess mid-infrared emission over that expected from the component stars alone. We explore the origin of this IR excess by examining bremsstrahlung, cyclotron emission, circumbinary dust, and L/T brown dwarf secondary stars. Bremsstrahlung and cyclotron emission appear unlikely to be significant contributors to the o…
This paper presents a sensitive and comprehensive IRAC 3-8 $μ$m photometric survey of white dwarfs for companions in the planetary mass regime with temperatures cooler than the known T dwarfs. The search focuses on descendents of intermediate mass stars with $M\ga3$ $M_{\odot}$ whose inner, few hundred AU regions cannot be probed effectively for massive planets and brown dwarfs by any alternative existing method. Furthermore, examination for mid-infrared excess explores an extensive range of orbital semimajor axes, including the intermediate 5-50 AU range poorly covered and incompletely access…
Fluxes are measured for the DA white dwarf plus brown dwarf pair GD 1400 with the Infrared Array Camera on the {\em Spitzer Space Telescope}. GD 1400 displays an infrared excess over the entire $3-8μ$m region consistent with the presence of a mid- to late-type L dwarf companion. A discussion is given regarding current knowledge of this unique system.
Here we present the Spitzer IRS spectrum of CVSO 224, the sole transitional disk located within the ~10 Myr old 25 Orionis group in Orion OB1a. A model fit to the spectral energy distribution of this object indicates a ~7 AU inner disk hole that contains a small amount of optically thin dust. In previous studies, CVSO 224 had been classified as a weak-line T Tauri star based on its Halpha equivalent width, but here we find an accretion rate of 7x10^-11 Msun/yr based on high-resolution Hectochelle data. CVSO 224's low mass accretion rate is in line with photoevaporative clearing theories. Howev…
(abridged:) The Taurus Molecular Cloud (TMC) contains numerous prototypical examples of deeply embedded protostars with massive disks and outflows, classical and weak-lined T Tauri stars, jets and Herbig-Haro objects, and a growing number of confirmed brown dwarfs. Star formation is ongoing, and the cloud covers all stages of pre-main sequence stellar evolution. We have initiated comprehensive surveys of the TMC, in particular including: (i) a deep X-ray survey of about 5 sq. degrees with XMM-Newton; (ii) a near-to-mid-infrared photometric survey of ~30 sq. degrees with the Spitzer Space Teles…
We present the first high spatial resolution near-infrared direct and polarimetric observations of Parsamian 21, obtained with the VLT/NACO instrument. We complemented these measurements with archival infrared observations, such as HST/WFPC2 imaging, HST/NICMOS polarimetry, Spitzer IRAC and MIPS photometry, Spitzer IRS spectroscopy as well as ISO photometry. Our main conclusions are the following: (1) we argue that Parsamian 21 is probably an FU Orionis-type object; (2) Parsamian 21 is not associated with any rich cluster of young stars; (3) our measurements reveal a circumstellar envelope, a …
We present mid-infrared Spitzer IRAC and MIPS images of the UX Orionis star VV Ser and the surrounding cloud. The 5.6--70 micron images show bright, localized and nebulous emission extended over 4 arcmin centered on VV Ser. We interpret the nebulosity as being due to transiently heated grains excited by UV photons emitted by VV Ser. A companion paper describes how the physical structure of the VV Ser disk has been constrained using a wide range of observational data modeled by an axisymmetric Monte Carlo radiative transfer code. In this paper we employ the model to study the nebulosity surroun…