JWST unveils the brown dwarf sequence of 47 Tucanae
arXiv:2302.04879 · doi:10.1093/mnrasl/slad021
Abstract
We have developed a technique to restore scientific usage in compromised (publicly-available) images collected with the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) of the Galactic globular cluster NGC 104 (47 Tucanae). In spite of the degradation and limited data, we were able to recover photometry and astrometry for the coolest stellar objects ever observed within a globular cluster, possibly unveiling the brightest part of the brown dwarf (BD) sequence. This is supported by: (i) proper motion membership, derived by the comparison with positions obtained from Hubble Space Telescope archival early epochs; (ii) the predicted location of the BD sequence; and (iii) the mass function for low-mass stars derived from models. Future JWST observations will provide the necessary deep and precise proper motions to confirm the nature of the here-identified BD candidates belonging to this globular cluster.
arXiv comment7 pages, 4 figures (+1 bonus), 1 table. Accepted for publication in MNRAS Letter on February 9, 2023
References in corpus (29)
- A Triple Main Sequence in the Globular Cluster NGC 2808
- Omega Centauri: The Population Puzzle Goes Deeper
- The Hubble Space Telescope UV Legacy Survey of Galactic Globular Clusters. I. Overview of the Project and Detection of Multiple Stellar Populations
- Gaia EDR3 view on Galactic globular clusters
- An ACS Survey of Globular Clusters V: Star Catalog for Each Cluster
- The Updated BaSTI Stellar Evolution Models and Isochrones: I. Solar Scaled Calculations
- The Hubble Space Telescope UV Legacy Survey of Galactic Globular Clusters. V. Constraints on Formation Scenarios
- A new set of atmosphere and evolution models for cool T-Y brown dwarfs and giant exoplanets
- The ACS Survey of Galactic Globular Clusters: M54 and Young Populations in the Sagittarius Dwarf Spheroidal Galaxy
- The updated BaSTI stellar evolution models and isochrones: II. alpha-enhanced calculations
- The Hubble Space Telescope UV Legacy Survey of Galactic Globular Clusters - XVII. Public Catalogue Release
- The State-of-the-Art HST Astro-Photometric Analysis of the core of Centauri. I. The Catalog
- Preliminary Trigonometric Parallaxes of 184 Late-T and Y Dwarfs and an Analysis of the Field Substellar Mass Function into the "Planetary" Mass Regime
- A Volume-Limited Sample of Ultracool Dwarfs. I. Construction, Space Density, and a Gap in the L/T Transition
- Temperatures and Metallicities of M dwarfs in the APOGEE Survey
- Photometry and astrometry with JWST -- I. NIRCam Point Spread Functions and the first JWST colour-magnitude diagrams of a globular cluster
- The Hubble Space Telescope UV Legacy Survey of Galactic Globular Clusters. IV. Helium content and relative age of multiple stellar populations within NGC 6352
- A Deep, Wide-Field, and Panchromatic View of 47 Tuc and the SMC with HST: Observations and Data Analysis Methods
- Improved Hubble Space Telescope Proper Motions for Tycho-G and Other Stars in the Remnant of Tycho's Supernova 1572
- The Hubble Space Telescope UV Legacy Survey of Galactic Globular Clusters - XIV. Multiple stellar populations within M 15 and their radial distribution
- Extending Gaia DR2 with HST narrow-field astrometry: the WISE J154151.65-225024.9 test case
- Hubble Space Telescope analysis of stellar populations within the globular cluster G1 (Mayall II) in M31
- The HST large programme on omega Centauri -- IV. catalogue of two external fields
- Deep near-IR observations of the Globular Cluster M4: Hunting for Brown Dwarfs
- Hunting for Brown Dwarfs in the Globular Cluster M4: 2nd epoch HST NIR observations
- The HST large programme on NGC 6752 -- IV. The White Dwarf Sequence
- Multiple Populations in Integrated Light Spectroscopy of Intermediate Age Clusters
- Extending Gaia DR2 with HST narrow-field astrometry. II. Refining the method on WISE J163940.83-684738.6
- Globular cluster absolute ages from cooling brown dwarfs