GeminiFocus 2015 Year in Review | Page 22

Brown Dwarfs Objects below 0.08 solar mass, (i.e. below the hydrogen-burning limit) are are known as brown dwarfs. We demonstrate here that GeMS/GSAOI opens the way for studies of brown dwarfs, and brown dwarf formation processes in distant clusters. In particular, there have been several proposed mechanisms to explain the origin of brown dwarfs — such as through turbulent fragmentation, disk fragmentation, ejection of newly formed fragments in multiple systems, and photoevaporation. All of these scenarios may predict a different brown dwarf fraction. For instance, isolated brown dwarfs may be the remains of prestellar cores, after strong ultraviolet emission from nearby massive stars photoevaporated their accretion disks. We therefore expect a higher brown dwarf ratio for clusters hosting massive stars. RCW 41 does host many massive stars, allowing us to compare its brown dwarf fraction with other known clusters hosting massive stars, such as the Trapezium region in the Orion Nebula. From this comparison we found that the fraction of brown dwarfs in RCW 41 was actually significantly smaller than that of the Trapezium. This is also true for another distant cluster — the one in M16, the Eagle Nebula. This might indicate that different processes are at work to shape the low-mass IMF and the brown dwarf content. an ideal complement to the radio observations delivered by the newly commissioned Atacama Large Millimeter Array (ALMA). Combining near-infrared, with radio wavelengths — at a similar spatial resolution — opens the way for strong synergies and breakthrough discoveries. We are also exploring the need for new data reduction tools specifically designed for this new generation of AO systems. As shown in this paper, many uncertainties in the data still exist, and error bars need to be carefully treated. Finding ways to reduce these error bars will allow us to push the limits of technology, better constrain theoretical models, and improve our understanding of those rich and complex star-forming regions. Benoit Neichel is an instrument scientist at Laboratoire d’Astrophysique de Marseille. He can be reached at: benoit.nei [email protected] Other members of the team are: Manash R. Samal, A. Zavagno, and A. Bernard from Laboratoire d’Astrophysique de Marseille, France; H. Plana from Universidade Estadual de Santa Cruz, Brazil; and T. Fusco from ONERA, France. Coming Next Accurately deriving the stellar content of young clusters is a challenge for which GeMS/GSAOI is certainly a unique facility. These capabilities offer us an opportunity to pin down each of the least massive stars present in distant clusters and push the observational limits one step further. The resolution provided by GeMS/GSAOI is also 20 GeminiFocus 2015 Year in Review January 2016