Document Type
Journal Article
Role
Author
Standard Number
0004-6256
Journal Title
Astronomical Journal
Volume
145
Issue
2
First Page
40
Last Page
50
Publication Date
2013
Abstract
We present a statistical parallax study of nearly 2000 M subdwarfs with photometry and spectroscopy from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS). Statistical parallax analysis yields the mean absolute magnitudes, mean velocities, and velocity ellipsoids for homogenous samples of stars. We selected homogeneous groups of subdwarfs based on their photometric colors and spectral appearance. We examined the color–magnitude relations of low-mass subdwarfs and quantified their dependence on the newly refined metallicity parameter, ζ. We also developed a photometric metallicity parameter, δ(g − r), based on the g − r and r − z colors of low-mass stars and used it to select stars with similar metallicities. The kinematics of low-mass subdwarfs as a function of color and metallicity were also examined and compared to main-sequence M dwarfs. We find that the SDSS subdwarfs share similar kinematics to the inner halo and thick disk. The color–magnitude relations derived in this analysis will be a powerful tool for identifying and characterizing low-mass metal-poor subdwarfs in future surveys such as Gaia and LSST, making them important and plentiful tracers of the stellar halo.
Repository Citation
"Mapping the Local Halo: Statistical Parallax Analysis of SDSS Low-Mass Subdwarfs." The Astronomical Journal 145