Infrared Spectroscopy of free-floating planet candidates in Upper Scorpius and Ophiuchus

TL;DR

This study confirms the youth and planetary mass status of most free-floating candidates in Upper Scorpius and Ophiuchus using near-infrared spectroscopy, with minimal contamination.

Contribution

It provides spectroscopic confirmation of the youth and planetary masses of 16 out of 17 free-floating candidates in these star-forming regions.

Findings

16 out of 17 candidates are confirmed as young ultracool objects.

Spectral types range from L0 to L6.

Contamination level is estimated below 6%.

Abstract

Context: A rich population of low-mass brown dwarfs and isolated planetary mass objects has been reported recently in the Upper Scorpius and Ophiuchus star forming complex. Aims: We investigate the membership, nature and properties of 17 of these isolated planetary mass candidates using low-resolution near-infrared spectra. Methods: We investigate the membership by looking for evidences of youth using four diagnostics: the slope of the continuum between the J and Ks band, the Hcont and TLI-g gravity sensitive indices, and by comparing the spectra to young and field (old) M and L-dwarf standards. Results: All the targets but one are confirmed as young ultracool objects, with spectral types between L0 and L6 and masses in the range 0.004-0.013 M according to evolutionary models. The status of the last target is unclear at this point. Conclusions: Only one possible contaminant has been identified among the 17 targets, suggesting that the contamination level of the original sample must be lower than 6%