Search for Substellar Objects Around Young and Nearby Stars: The SACY Sample

We have started a systematic survey to detect substellar (brown dwarfs and planetary mass) companions around young and nearby stars discovered in the course of the SACY survey. In this paper we present first epoch observations of 17 new identified members of three nearby associations. As a result, we have detected substellar companion candidates to twelve stars from the ɛ Cha and β Pic associations. If bound to the primaries, 37 of these objects are detected at projected separations ⪉ 800 AU, that is, well within the separation range where confirmed companion candidates have been detected so far. Second epoch imaging observations, together with infrared spectroscopy, are necessary to unveil the true nature of the detected companion candidates.