Measuring the Luminosity Function of Low-Mass Stars with Matched Survey Datasets
Abstract
We present an initial measurement of the luminosity and mass functions of low mass stars as constructed from a catalog of matched Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) and 2 Micron All Sky Survey (2MASS) point sources. We have assembled a photometric catalog of 25,000+ matched SDSS and 2MASS point sources, spanning over 30 square degrees on the sky. We have also obtained follow-up spectroscopy, complete to J=16, of 500+ low mass dwarf candidates within a 1 square degree sub-sample, and thousands of additional dwarf candidates in the remaining 29 square degrees. This spectroscopic sample verifies that less than 1% of the photometric catalog is affected by incompleteness, contamination, or bias. Using this sample, we derive the luminosity and mass functions of low-mass stars over nearly a decade in mass ( 0.7 Msolar < M* < 0.1 Msolar), and compare our findings to previous results. Having validated this method to generate a low mass luminosity function from matched SDSS/2MASS datasets, future studies will enable extending this technique to the entirety of the SDSS/2MASS overlap.
- Publication:
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American Astronomical Society Meeting Abstracts
- Pub Date:
- December 2006
- Bibcode:
- 2006AAS...209.2708C