New Ultracool Companions to Nearby White Dwarfs
Alexia Bravo, Adam C. Schneider, Sarah Casewell, Austin Rothermich,, Jacqueline K. Faherty, Jenni R. French, Thomas P. Bickle, Aaron M. Meisner,, J. Davy Kirkpatrick, Marc J. Kuchner, Adam J. Burgasser, Federico Marocco,, John H. Debes, Arttu Sainio, L\'eopold Gramaize

TL;DR
This study identified 51 new ultracool companions to nearby white dwarfs using multi-method searches, confirmed some with spectroscopy, and found others with infrared excess, providing valuable benchmarks for ultracool dwarf characterization.
Contribution
The paper reports the discovery and confirmation of new ultracool companions to white dwarfs, including spectroscopic validation and infrared excess analysis, expanding the known sample for future studies.
Findings
51 new candidate ultracool companions identified
4 companions confirmed via near-infrared spectroscopy
Infrared excess suggests additional low-mass companions or disks
Abstract
We conducted a search for new ultracool companions to nearby white dwarfs using multiple methods, including the analysis of colors and examination of images in both the optical and the infrared. Through this process, we identified fifty-one previously unrecognized systems with candidate ultracool companions. Thirty-one of these systems are resolved in at least one catalog, and all but six are confirmed as co-moving companions via common proper motion and consistent parallax measurements (when available). We have followed up four co-moving companions with near-infrared spectroscopy and confirm their ultracool nature. The remaining twenty candidates are unresolved, but show clear signs of infrared excess which is most likely due to the presence of a cold, low-mass companion or a dusty circumstellar disk. Three of these unresolved systems have existing optical spectra that clearly show the…
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Taxonomy
TopicsStellar, planetary, and galactic studies · Astronomy and Astrophysical Research · Astrophysics and Star Formation Studies
