Knowing Our Neighbors: Four New Nearby High Proper Motion Systems
Abstract
Obtaining a well-understood, volume-limited (and ultimately volume-complete) sample of stellar systems within 25 pc is essential for determining the stellar luminosity function, the mass-luminosity relationship, the stellar velocity distribution, and the stellar multiplicity fraction. Such a sample also provides insight into the local star formation history. Towards that end, the Research Consortium On Nearby Stars (RECONS) team measures trigonometric parallaxes to establish which systems truly lie within the 25-pc radius of the Solar Neighborhood. Recent astrometric measurements with the CTIO/SMARTS 0.9-m telescope establish three high proper motion systems as members (2MASS J02511490-0352459, 2MASS J15345704-1418486, and 2MASS J09211410-2104446) and confirm a fourth (2MASS J23062928-0502285). All four proper motions exceed 0.9”/yr. 2MA0251 travels 2.1497±0.0009”/yr in 149.20±0.05° at a distance of 11.0±0.4 pc. 2M2306 moves 1.0344±0.0007”/yr in 118.50±0.08° at a distance of 12.7±0.2 pc. 2MA1534 goes 0.9726±0.0004”/yr in 251.50 ±0.05° at a distance of 10.93±0.10 pc. 2MA0921 shifts 0.9489±0.0003”/yr in 164.70±0.04° at a distance of 12.3±0.2 pc. The corresponding tangential velocities are 112.4, 62.4, 50.4, and 55.5 km/s whereas the median for parallaxes previously published by RECONS is 53 km/s. With radial velocities in the literature of -75.5 to 80.53 km/s, none of these is a candidate member of any young moving groups.To characterize these late M-early L systems more fully, RECONS obtained VRI photometry; their I -band magnitudes range from 14.10 to 16.55. Over their astrometric baselines of 7.75 to 8.99 years, these demonstrated long-term I-band variability of 0.0135 mag. or less, indicating they may be older systems.With each new confirmation, we come closer to completing the census of the Solar Neighborhood.NSF grants AST 05-07711 and AST 09-08402, NASA-SIM, Georgia State University, the University of Virginia, Hampden-Sydney College, and the Levinson Fund of the Peninsula Community Foundation supported this research. CTIOPI was an NOAO Survey Program and continues as part of the SMARTS Consortium. We thank the SMARTS Consortium and the CTIO staff, who enable the small telescope operations at CTIO.
- Publication:
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American Astronomical Society Meeting Abstracts #229
- Pub Date:
- January 2017
- Bibcode:
- 2017AAS...22924013B