The Impact of Chromospheric Activity on Observed Initial Mass Functions

TL;DR

This study demonstrates that accounting for chromospheric activity significantly alters the inferred initial mass function in a young star-forming region, affecting the estimated masses and the brown dwarf-to-star ratio.

Contribution

It introduces an empirical correction method for chromospheric activity effects on stellar parameters, refining the shape and peak of the initial mass function in Upper Sco.

Findings

IMF peak shifts from ~0.06 to ~0.11 Msun after correction

Brown dwarf to star ratio decreases from ~80% to ~33%

Mass estimates increase by 3-100% after activity adjustment

Abstract

Using recently established empirical calibrations for the impact of chromospheric activity on the radii, effective temperatures, and estimated masses of active low-mass stars and brown dwarfs, we reassess the shape of the initial mass function (IMF) across the stellar/substellar boundary in the Upper Sco star-forming region (age 5-10 Myr). We adjust the observed effective temperatures to warmer values using the observed strength of the chromospheric H$\alpha$ emission, and redetermine the estimated masses of objects using pre--main-sequence evolutionary tracks in the H-R diagram. The effect of the activity-adjusted temperatures is to shift the objects to higher masses by 3-100%. While the slope of the resulting IMF at substellar masses is not strongly changed, the peak of the IMF does shift from ~0.06 to ~0.11 Msun. Moreover, for objects with masses <~0.2 Msun, the ratio of brown dwarfs to stars changes from ~80% to ~33%. These results suggest that activity corrections are essential for studies of the substellar mass function, if the masses are estimated from spectral types or from effective temperatures.