Bibcode
Zapatero Osorio, M. R.; Béjar, V. J. S.; Lodieu, N.; Manjavacas, E.
Bibliographical reference
Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, Volume 475, Issue 1, p.139-153
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3
2018
Citations
7
Refereed citations
6
Description
We present optical photometry (i and Z band) and low-resolution
spectroscopy (640-1015 nm) of very faint candidate members (J =
20.2-21.2 mag) of the Pleiades star cluster (120 Myr). The main goal is
to address their cluster membership via photometric, astrometric, and
spectroscopic studies, and to determine the properties of the least
massive population of the cluster through the comparison of the data
with younger and older spectral counterparts and state-of-the art model
atmospheres. We confirm three bona fide Pleiades members that have
extremely red optical and infrared colours, effective temperatures of
≈1150 and ≈1350 K, and masses in the interval 11-20
MJup, and one additional likely member that shares the same
motion as the cluster but does not appear to be as red as the other
members with similar brightness. This latter object requires further
near-infrared spectroscopy to fully address its membership in the
Pleiades. The optical spectra of two bona fide members were classified
as L6-L7 and show features of K I, a tentative detection of Cs I,
hydrides, and water vapour with an intensity similar to high-gravity
dwarfs of related classification despite their young age. The properties
of the Pleiades L6-L7 members clearly indicate that very red colours of
L dwarfs are not a direct evidence of ages younger than ≈100 Myr. We
also report on the determination of the bolometric corrections for the
coolest Pleiades members. These data can be used to interpret the
observations of the atmospheres of exoplanets orbiting stars.
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