Discovering and Characterizing new Y Dwarfs at the Faint Limits of WISE

Leggett, S.; Pinfield, David; Ruiz, Maria Teresa; Marley, Mark; Saumon, Didier; Morley, Caroline; Gomes, Joana; Day-Jones, Avril; Gromadzki, Mariusz; Kurtev, Radostin; Lodieu, N.; Smart, Ricky; Faherty, Jackie
Bibliographical reference

NOAO Proposal ID #2014A-0535

Advertised on:
2
2014
Number of authors
13
IAC number of authors
1
Citations
0
Refereed citations
0
Description
We propose to continue our near-IR followup of ultracool dwarf candidates in the WISE survey. We identify candidate late-T and Y dwarfs at the faint limits of the survey by using WISE multiple measurements and photometric profile fits to identify non-variable point sources detected only in W2. Photometry at J identifies likely cool objects, and H is measured for confirmation. Spectroscopy is then obtained of the probable T9-Y dwarfs. In followup to date, we find about half the W2-only sources are brown dwarfs cooler than 700K (>T8), about 40% are warmer brown dwarfs, and about 10% are contaminants. In 13B we were awarded time to followup 60 candidates. In 14A we will obtain additional data on 30 13B targets of interest, plus 17 new sources. We have already increased the number of WISE T9-Y dwarf by 30%, and expect to double the number of 400K Y dwarfs when Gemini followup of the 13B and 14A samples is complete. This work allows the WISE mission to reach its full potential for one of its key goals: discovery of the nearest and coolest brown dwarfs.