GTC/OSIRIS spectroscopic confirmation of the first L dwarf in Praesepe

Authors
Dr.
Steve Boudreault
Date and time
31 May 2013 - 12:30 Europe/London
Address

Aula

Talk language
English
Slides language
English
Serie number
1
Description

Fundamental properties of brown dwarfs, such as luminosity and effective temperature, evolve with age. Large samples of spectroscopically-confirmed substellar objects with well-determined ages and distances are needed to constrain those parameters. We are embarked in a spectroscopic follow-up with GTC/OSIRIS of low-mass member candidates selected in several open clusters to constrain their membership. Here I will present the first L dwarf member in Praesepe confirmed by photometry, astrometry, and spectroscopy. We derived an optical spectral type of L0.3+/-0.4 and a mass placing it at the hydrogen-burning boundary. Considering the measured equivalent width of the gravity-sensitive sodium doublet, and the derived membership probability of ~80% or higher, we conclude that this object is likely to be a true member of Praesepe, with evidence of being a binary system.

Type
Format