Spitzer-IRAC Search for Companions to Nearby, Young M Dwarfs

Abstract

We present the results of a survey of nearby, young M stars for wide low-mass companions with IRAC on the Spitzer Space Telescope. We observed 40 young M dwarfs within 20 pc of the Sun, selected through X-ray emission criteria. A total of 10 candidate companions were found with IRAC colors consistent with T dwarfs. Extensive ground-based NIR follow-up observations rejected all these candidates. Two additional candidates were discovered via common proper motion measurements, one of which was rejected as a background object and the other is a bona fide companion to GJ 2060, a member of the AB Doradus moving group.

arXiv comment27 pages, 9 Figures, 4 Tables; accepted for publication in AJ

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Cited by in corpus (8)

• Planets Around Low-Mass Stars (PALMS). IV. The Outer Architecture of M Dwarf Planetary Systems
• Identifying the Young Low-mass Stars within 25 pc. I. Spectroscopic Observations
• The Solar Neighborhood XLV. The Stellar Multiplicity Rate of M Dwarfs Within 25 pc
• Lucky Imaging survey for southern M dwarf binaries
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• Discovery of a Wide Substellar Companion to a Nearby Low-Mass Star
• Discovery of the Widest Very Low Mass Field Binary
• The magnetically-active, low-mass, triple system WDS 19312+3607