New M Dwarf Debris Disk Candidates in NGC 2547
- Author(s)
- Jan Forbrich, Charles J. Lada, August A. Muench, Paula S. Teixeira
- Abstract
With only six known examples, M dwarf debris disks are rare, even though M dwarfs constitute the majority of stars in the Galaxy. After finding anew M dwarf debris disk in a shallow mid-infrared observation of NGC2547, we present a considerably deeper Spitzer MIPS image of the region,with a maximum exposure time of 15 minutes pixel-1. Among sources selected from a previously published membership list, we identify nine new M dwarfs with excess emission at 24 μm tracing warm material close to the snow line of these stars, at orbital radii of less than 1 AU. We argue that these are likely debris disks, suggesting that planet formation is under way in these systems. Interestingly, the estimated excess fraction of M stars appears to be higher than that of Gand K stars in our sample.
- Organisation(s)
- Department of Astrophysics
- External organisation(s)
- Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics
- Journal
- The Astrophysical Journal: an international review of astronomy and astronomical physics
- Volume
- 687
- Pages
- 1107-1116
- ISSN
- 0004-637X
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1086/592035
- Publication date
- 11-2008
- Peer reviewed
- Yes
- Austrian Fields of Science 2012
- 103003 Astronomy, 103004 Astrophysics
- Keywords
- Portal url
- https://ucrisportal.univie.ac.at/en/publications/c2d0be33-8d17-4f8c-8a20-272cba1f61d7