2003/08/19 by I. Neill Reid
Physics and Astronomy · #Adaptive optics and wavefront sensing #Astrometry #Astronomy #Astronomy and Astrophysical Research #Astrophysics #Brown dwarf #Galactic plane #Galaxy #Geometry #Luminosity #Luminosity function #Physics #Plane (geometry) #Proper motion #Sky #Stars #Stellar classification #Stellar, planetary, and galactic studies #astro-ph
paper · pdf · doi:10.1086/378907
published as Astron.J.126:2449,2003 · accepted by Astr. J., 36 pages, 9 figures
arxiv created 2003/08/19 · openalex publication_date 2003/11/01 · arxiv updated 2009/12/01 · openalex created_date 2016/06/24 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/05
Surveys for nearby low-luminosity dwarfs tend to avoid the crowded regions of the Galactic plane. We have devised near-infrared color-magnitude and color-color selection criteria designed to identify late-type M and early-type L dwarfs within 12 pc of the Sun. We use those criteria to search for candidates within the regions of the Galactic plane (| b | < 10°) covered by the Second Incremental Data Release from the Two Micron All Sky Survey. Detailed inspection of the available photographic images of the resulting 1299 candidates confirms only two as ultracool dwarfs. Both are known proper-motion stars, identified in the recent survey by Lépine et al. Despite the low numbers, the inferred surface density is consistent with comparable surveys at higher latitudes. We discuss the implications for the luminosity function and consider means of improving the efficiency and scope of photometric surveys in the plane.