A Pan-STARRS + UKIDSS Search for Young, Wide Planetary-mass Companions in Upper Scorpius
Abstract
We have combined optical and NIR photometry from Pan-STARRS 1 and UKIDSS to search the young (5-10 Myr) star-forming region of Upper Scorpius for wide (≈400-4000 AU) substellar companions down to ~5 M Jup. Our search is ≈4 mag deeper than previous work based on the Two Micron All Sky Survey. We identified several candidates around known stellar members using a combination of color selection and spectral energy distribution fitting. Our follow-up spectroscopy has identified two new companions as well as confirmed two companions previously identified from photometry, with spectral types of M7.5-M9 and masses of ~15-60 M Jup, indicating a frequency for such wide substellar companions of ~0.6% ± 0.3%. Both USco 1610-1913B and USco 1612-1800B are more luminous than expected for their spectral type compared with known members of Upper Sco. HIP 77900B has an extreme mass ratio (M 2/M 1 ≈ 0.005) and an extreme separation of 3200 AU. USco 1602-2401B also has a very large separation of 1000 AU. We have also confirmed a low-mass stellar companion, USco 1610-2502B (730 AU, M5.5). Our substellar companions appear both non-coeval with their primary stars according to evolutionary models and, as a group, are systematically more luminous than the Upper Sco cluster sequence. One possible reason for these luminosity discrepancies could be different formation processes or accretion histories for these objects.
- Publication:
-
The Astrophysical Journal
- Pub Date:
- August 2013
- DOI:
- 10.1088/0004-637X/773/1/63
- arXiv:
- arXiv:1307.0506
- Bibcode:
- 2013ApJ...773...63A
- Keywords:
-
- binaries: general;
- brown dwarfs;
- planetary systems;
- stars: pre-main sequence;
- Astrophysics - Solar and Stellar Astrophysics;
- Astrophysics - Earth and Planetary Astrophysics
- E-Print:
- Accepted to ApJ