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High Resolution Images of Orbital Motion in the Trapezium Cluster: First Scientific Results from the MMT Deformable Secondary Mirror Adaptive Optics System | | Laird M. Close
; Francois Wildi
; Michael Lloyd-Hart
; Guido Brusa
; Don Fisher
; Doug Miller
; Armando Riccardi
; Piero Salinari
; Donald W. McCarthy
; Roger Angel
; Rich Allen
; H.M. Martin
; Richard G. Sosa
; Manny Montoya
; Matt Rademacher
; Mario Rascon
; Dylan Curley
; Nick Siegler
; Wolfgang J. Duschl
; | | Date: |
30 Aug 2003 | | Journal: | Astrophys.J. 599 (2003) 537-547 | | Subject: | astro-ph | | Abstract: | We present the first scientific images obtained with a deformable secondary mirror adaptive optics system. We utilized the 6.5m MMT AO system to produce high-resolution (FWHM=0.07’’) near infrared (1.6 um) images of the young (~1 Myr) Orion Trapezium theta 1 Ori cluster members. A combination of high spatial resolution and high signal to noise allowed the positions of these stars to be measured to within ~0.003’’ accuracies. Including previous speckle data (Weigelt et al. 1999), we analyze a six year baseline of high-resolution observations of this cluster. Over this baseline we are sensitive to relative proper motions of only ~0.002’’/yr (4.2 km/s at 450 pc). At such sensitivities we detect orbital motion in the very tight theta 1 Ori B2B3 (52 AU separation) and theta 1 Ori A1A2 (94 AU separation) systems. Such motions are consistent with those independently observed by Schertl et al. (2003) with speckle interferometry, giving us confidence that these very small (~0.002’’/yr) orbital motions are real. All five members of the theta 1 Ori B system appear likely gravitationally bound. The very lowest mass member of the theta 1 Ori B system (B4) has K’ ~11.66 and an estimated mass of ~0.2 Msun. There was very little motion (4+/-15 km/s) detected of B4 w.r.t B1 or B2, hence B4 is possibly part of the theta 1 Ori B group. We suspect that if this very low mass member is physically associated it most likely is in an unstable (non-hierarchical) orbital position and will soon be ejected from the group. The theta 1 Ori B system appears to be a good example of a star formation ``mini-cluster’’ which may eject the lowest mass members of the cluster in the near future. This ``ejection’’ process could play a major role in the formation of low mass stars and brown dwarfs. | | Source: | arXiv, astro-ph/0309003 | | Services: | Forum | Review | PDF | Favorites | |
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