2008/07/23 by Jan Forbrich, C. J. Lada, Charles J. Lada +4 · 24 citations
Physics and Astronomy · #Astro and Planetary Science #Astronomy #Astrophysics #Astrophysics and Star Formation Studies #Debris #Debris disk #Dwarf galaxy #Galaxy #Physics #Planetary system #Stars #Stellar, planetary, and galactic studies #astro-ph
paper · pdf · doi:10.1086/592035
published in The Astrophysical Journal 687(2), 1107-1116 (IOP Publishing) · 16 pages, 8 figures; accepted for publication in ApJ
arxiv created 2008/07/23 · openalex publication_date 2008/10/31 · arxiv updated 2009/12/01 · openalex created_date 2020/11/23 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/06
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 a new M dwarf debris disk in a shallow mid-infrared observation of NGC 2547, 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 G and K stars in our sample.