Exploring the low-mass end of the companion mass function around massive stars is of crucial importance to constrain massive star formation theories. We present a high-contrast imaging study of 20 O- and early B-type stars in the Scorpius OB1 association. From the analysis of VLT/SPHERE data, we identify a total of 789 sources. The data probe the brown dwarf regime around massive stars, resulting in the discovery of large-separation multiple systems with mass-ratios as low as 0.001 (comparable to Jupiter-Sun mass-ratio).

Together with the stellar rotation, the spotted surfaces of low-mass magnetically active stars produce modulations in their brightness. These modulations can be resolved by photometric variability surveys, allowing direct measurements of stellar spin rates. In this proceedings, we present results of a multisite photometric survey dedicated to the measurement of spin rates in the 30 Myr cluster NGC 3766. Inside the framework of the Monitor Project, the cluster was monitored during 2014 in the i-band by the Wide Field Imager at the MPG/ESO 2.2-m telescope. Data from Gaia-DR2 and grizY photometry from DECam/CTIO were used to identify cluster members. We present spin rates measured for ⁓200 cluster members.

Spectra of exoplanets, cool stars and brown dwarfs contain features due to molecular absorptions. Modelling these requires extensive line lists which are provided by the ExoMol project. Here we report on current progress and future prospects for the project.

We carried out a high contrast imaging search for (sub)stellar companions of young pre-main sequence stars in the Lupus star forming region. For this project we utilized NACO/ESO-VLT, operated at the Paranal observatory. On this poster, we presented the results of this survey. In several observing campaigns we could obtain diffraction limited deep IR imaging data and detected faint co-moving companions around our targets, whose astro- and photometry was determined in all observing epochs. The co-moving companions found in our survey exhibit angular separations in the range between about 0.1 and a few arcsecs, i.e. projected separations between about 10 and a few hundreds of au, at the average distance of our targets of about 140 pc. Beside several new binary and triple star systems, whose multiplicity was revealed in this survey, also faint co-moving companions in the substellar mass regime could be identified close to some of our targets.

The very low background observed from Antarctica in a window from about 2·25 to 2·45 μm can be exploited as a way of making deep near-IR surveys over wide areas of sky. Imaging surveys using the entire window can cover large areas of sky to limits of around K = 20, and can be used to study galaxy evolution and to search for high-redshift quasars, dust-obscured quasars and brown dwarfs. It is also possible to make spectroscopic surveys in this window. The window includes molecular hydrogen emission and CO absorption in galactic sources, and can also be used to search for emission lines such as Hα in high-redshift star-forming galaxies.

We present new photometric and spectroscopic data for the M-type members of the TW Hya association with the aim of a comprehensive study of accretion, disks and magnetic activity at the critical age of ~ 10 Myr where circumstellar matter disappears.

The SUPERBLINK survey catalogs all stars brighter than R = 19 mag and with proper motions larger than 40 mas yr−1, down to a declination of −33○. The catalog inevitably includes a significant fraction of the presumed low-mass members of several nearby young moving groups (Beta Pic, AB Dor, Tuc-Hor, Argus), or low-mass escapees from the Hyades and Pleiades clusters. We discuss opportunities and challenges in identifying the missing M dwarf members of these moving groups. While rounding up the majority of the potential M dwarf members of these groups, such samples are significantly affected by co-moving field stars, both young and old, due to the heavy clumping of the local field population in velocity space.

I present a highly biased and skewed summary of IAU Symposium 314, “Young Stars and Planets Near the Sun,” held in May 2015. This summary includes some takeaway thoughts about the rapidly evolving state of the field, as well as some crowd-sourced predictions for progress over the next ~10 years. We predict the elimination of 1–2 of the currently recognized young moving groups, the addition of 3 or more new moving groups within 100 pc, the continued lack of a predictive theory of stellar mass, robust measurements of the gas and dust content of circumstellar disks, and an ongoing struggle to achieve a consensus definition for a planet.

Young moving groups (YMGs) are coeval, comoving groups of stars which have migrated from their birthsites after formation. In the substellar regime, YMG members are key benchmarks to empirically define brown dwarf evolution with age and to study the lowest mass end of the initial mass function. We have combined Pan-STARRS1 (PS1) proper motions with optical+IR photometry from PS1, 2MASS and WISE to perform a large-scale (≈30,000 deg2) systematic search for substellar members down to ≈10 MJup. We have obtained near-IR spectroscopy of a large sample of ultracool candidate YMG members to assess their youth via gravity-sensitive absorption features. We have identified several new intermediate-gravity candidate members of the AB Dor Moving Group, potentially greatly expanding the substellar membership. These new candidate members bridge the gap between the known low-mass stellar and planetary-mass members and yield valuable insight into the spectral characteristics of young brown dwarfs.

The proper characterisation of stellar winds is essential for the study of propagation of eruptive events (flares, coronal mass ejections) and the study of space weather events on exoplanets. Here, we quantitatively investigate the nature of the stellar winds surrounding the hot Jupiters HD46375b, HD73256b, HD102195b, HD130322b, HD179949b. We simulate the three-dimensional winds of their host stars, in which we directly incorporate their observed surface magnetic fields. With that, we derive the wind properties at the position of the hot-Jupiters’ orbits (temperature, velocity, magnetic field intensity and pressure). We show that the exoplanets studied here are immersed in a local stellar wind that is much denser than the local conditions encountered around the solar system planets (e.g., 5 orders of magnitude denser than the conditions experienced by the Earth). The environment surrounding these exoplanets also differs in terms of dynamics (slower stellar winds, but higher Keplerian velocities) and ambient magnetic fields (2 to 3 orders of magnitude larger than the interplanetary medium surrounding the Earth). The characterisation of the host star's wind is also crucial for the study of how the wind interacts with exoplanets. For example, we compute the exoplanetary radio emission that is released in the wind-exoplanet interaction. For the hot-Jupiters studied here, we find radio fluxes ranging from 0.02 to 0.13 mJy. These fluxes could become orders of magnitude higher when stellar eruptions impact exoplanets, increasing the potential of detecting exoplanetary radio emission.

A gas-grain time dependent chemical code, UCL_CHEM, has been used to investigate the possibility of using chemical tracers to differentiate between the possible formation mechanisms of brown dwarfs. We model the formation of a pre-brown dwarf core through turbulent fragmentation by following the depth-dependent chemistry in a molecular cloud through the step change in density associated with an isothermal shock and the subsequent freefall collapse once a bound core is produced. Trends in the fractional abundance of molecules commonly observed in star forming cores are then explored to find a diagnostic for identifying brown dwarf mass cores formed through turbulence. We find that the cores produced by our models would be bright in CO and NH3 but not in HCO+. This differentiates them from models using purely freefall collapse as such models produce cores that would have detectable transitions from all three molecules.

We report on our search for L dwarf flares using NASA's Kepler mission. Spectroscopically confirmedflares were detected with the original Kepler mission from an L1 dwarf stars. We discuss the physicalcharacteristics of these white light flares and compare them to M dwarf flares. For “habitable zone” planets, the apparent flare brightnesses would be comparable to the most powerful M dwarf flares. Weare monitoring more L dwarfs with the Kepler K2 mission. We discussthe prospect for more detections during the remainder of the K2 mission.

The formation mechanism of brown dwarfs (BDs) is one of the long-standing problems in star formation because the typical Jeans mass in molecular clouds is too large to form these substellar objects. To answer this question, it is crucial to study a BD at the embedded phase (proto-brown dwarf). IRAS16253 is classified as a Very Low Luminosity Object (VeLLO, Lint < 0.1L⊙), which is considered as a proto-brown dwarf candidate. We use the IRAM 30m, APEX telescopes and the SMA to probe the molecular jet/outflow driven by IRAS 16253 in CO (2–1), (6–5), and (7–6) and study its dynamical features and physical properties. We detect a wiggling pattern in the position-velocity diagrams of the jets. Assuming that this pattern is due to the orbital motion of a binary system, we obtain the current mass of the binary is ~0.026 M⊙. Together with the low parent core mass, IRAS16253 will likely form one or two proto-BD in the future. This is the first time that the current mass of a proto-BD binary system is identified through the dynamics of the jets. Since IRAS16253 is located in an isolated environment, we suggest that BDs can form through fragmentation and collapse like low mass stars.

Using spectroscopic observations and photometric light curves of 280 nearby M dwarfs from the MEarth exoplanet transit survey, we examine the relationships between magnetic activity (quantified by Hα emission), rotation period, and stellar age (derived from three-dimensional space velocities). Although we have known for decades that a large fraction of mid-late-type M dwarfs are magnetically active, it was not clear what role rotation played in the magnetic field generation (and subsequent chromospheric heating). Previous attempts to investigate the relationship between magnetic activity and rotation in mid-late-type M dwarfs were hampered by the limited number of M dwarfs with measured rotation periods (and the fact that vsini measurements only probe rapid rotation). However, the photometric data from the MEarth survey allows us to probe a wide range of rotation periods for hundreds of M dwarf stars (from less than one to over 100 days). Over all M spectral types we find that magnetic activity decreases with longer rotation periods, including late-type, fully convective M dwarfs. We find that the most magnetically active (and hence, most rapidly rotating) stars are consistent with a kinematically young population, while slow-rotators are less active or inactive and appear to belong to an older, dynamically heated stellar population.

Dynamos operating in the interiors of rapidly rotating planets and low-mass stars might belong to a similar category where rotation plays a vital role. We quantify this similarity using scaling laws. We analyse direct numerical simulations of Boussinesq and anelastic spherical shell dynamos. These dynamos represent simplified models which span from Earth-like planets to rapidly rotating low-mass stars. We find that magnetic field and velocity in these dynamos are related to the available buoyancy power via a simple power law which holds over wide variety of control parameters.

With the combination of Herschel PACS (far-IR), submillimeter (submm) and millimeter (mm) ground-based observations, we are leading an investigation of all members with spectral types M4 and onwards in the Taurus star-forming region. This complete census spans the stellar to substellar boundary (M6.25), and the wavelength range covers the transition from optically thick to optically thin emission. From our Hershel PACS observations of ~135 sources, we obtain a detection rate of ~40% at 70 μm and a detection rate of ~20% at 160 μm, and provide the first far-IR measurements for the majority of these members. With our complementary submm and mm observations, best fit SED models from the radiative transfer code MCFOST will be used to infer disk properties such as scale height, mass, outer radius and maximum dust grain size. These comprehensive population statistics of disks are critical for testing star/brown dwarf and planet formation models around these later type members of Taurus.

We present a new analysis and reduction pipeline for the detection of planetary companions using Angular Differential Imaging. The pipeline uses Fourier transforms for image shifting and rotation in order to achieve very low signal loss. Furthermore it is parallelised in order to run on computer clusters of up to 1024 cores. The pipeline was developed in Geneva for the ongoing direct imaging campaign for stars with radial velocity drifts in the HARPS and CORALIE radial-velocity planet-search surveys. In addition to that, a disk mode has been implemented in the context of observations of the protoplanetary disk around HD142527.

Observations of radio emission from exoplanets and brown dwarfs suggest that such objects harbour atmospheric magnetized plasmas. However, the degree of thermal ionization for such substellar objects is insufficient to qualify the ionized component as a plasma, posing the question: what ionization processes can efficiently produce the required plasma? We propose Alfvén ionization as a mechanism for producing localized pockets of ionized gas in the atmosphere, having sufficient degrees of ionization (≥10−7) that they constitute plasmas. We outline the criteria required for Alfvén ionization to occur and justify its applicability in substellar atmospheres. For the model atmospheres considered here, our results show that degrees of ionization ranging from 10−6−1 can be obtained.

We are finally entering an era where radial velocity and direct imaging parameter spaces are starting to overlap. Radial velocity measurements provide us with a minimum mass for an orbiting companion (the mass as a function of the inclination of the system). By following up these long period radial velocity detections with direct imaging we can determine whether a trend seen is due to an orbiting planet at low inclination or an orbiting brown dwarf at high inclination. In the event of a non-detection we are still able to put a limit on the maximum mass of the orbiting body. The Anglo-Australian Planet Search is one of the longest baseline radial velocity planet searches in existence, amongst its targets are many that show long period trends in the data. Here we present our direct imaging survey of these objects with our results to date. ADI Observations have been made using NICI (Near Infrared Coronagraphic Imager) on Gemini South and analysed using an in house, LOCI-like, post processing.