Year: 2010
Type: article
Abstract: We report on new measurements of the luminosity function (LF) and mass function (MF) of field low-mass dwarfs derived from Sloan Digital Sky Survey Data Release 6 photometry. The analysis incorporates ∼15 million low-mass stars (0.1 ), spread over 8400 deg 2 . Stellar distances are estimated using new photometric parallax relations, constructed from ugriz photometry of nearby low-mass stars with trigonometric parallaxes. We use a technique that simultaneously measures Galactic structure and the stellar LF from 7 < M r < 16. We compare the LF to previous studies and convert to an MF using the mass–luminosity relations of Delfosse et al. The system MF, measured over −1.0< log <−0.1, is well described by a lognormal distribution with = 0.25 . We stress that our results should not be extrapolated to other mass regimes. Our work generally agrees with prior low-mass stellar MFs and places strong constraints on future theoretical star formation studies.
Source: The Astronomical Journal
Language: English
Subfield: Astronomy and Astrophysics
Field: Physics and Astronomy
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: bronze
Funders: National Science Foundation, U.S. Department of Energy, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, Princeton University, Ohio State University, University of Washington, Johns Hopkins University, University of Pittsburgh, Case Western Reserve University, Drexel University, Universität Basel, University of Portsmouth, New Mexico State University, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Max-Planck-Gesellschaft, Max-Planck-Institut für Astronomie, U.S. Naval Observatory, Fermilab, Los Alamos National Laboratory
OpenAlex ID: W2007462516