[Previous] | [Session 5] | [Next]

[5.10] Identification of Low Mass T Tauri Candidates at High Galactic Latitudes

P.M. McGehee (Los Alamos National Laboratory/New Mexico State University), S.L. Hawley (University of Washington), Z. Ivezic (Princeton University)

We present an optical study of low mass stars at high galactic latitudes (|b| > 30) using Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) imaging and spectroscopy. We specifically target stars whose SDSS colors indicate a M dwarf spectral type which, for objects having ages between 1 and 10 Myr, corresponds to masses less than 0.8 solar. Analysis of SDSS data obtained in the Orion OB1b and Taurus Star Formation Regions shows that actively accreting young stars have (u-g, g-r) colors distinct from those of the white dwarf - M dwarf pairs that dominate the field ultraviolet excess low mass star population. Furthermore, we find that this separation can be drawn using the reddening-invariant index formed by u-g and g-r, thus enabling selection of low mass Classical T Tauri candidates without correction for extinction. The spatial distribution of candidates is analyzed with emphasis on their relation to high latitude molecular clouds.

[Previous] | [Session 5] | [Next]

Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society, 35#5
© 2003. The American Astronomical Soceity.