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# High resolution spectroscopy of ultracool M dwarfs

## 1 Introduction

The pioneering Two Micron Sky Survey (TMSS) undertaken by Neugebauer & Leighton (1969) provided the first large-scale celestial survey at near-infrared wavelengths. Extending only to K$`3`$rd magnitude and covering 75% of the sky (Neugebauer, Martz & Leighton, 1965), the TMSS revolutionised our understanding of the nature of cool, luminous objects, such as Mira variables (Ulrich et al., 1966), red supergiants (for example, VY CMa, Hyland et al., 1969) and dust-enshrouded AGB stars (for example, IRC 10216, Becklin et al., 1969). The current generation of surveys, DENIS (Epchtein et al., 1994) and 2MASS (Skrutskie et al., 1997), reach flux levels more than 10,000 times fainter than the TMSS, and provide the first census of the near-infrared sky at moderately faint magnitudes. As such, they offer the prospect of a similar revolution in our understanding of cool, low-luminosity objects. Initial analyses have concentrated primarily on the coolest dwarfs discovered in those surveys, sources whose atmospheric properties and consequent emergent energy distributions have necessitated the creation of new spectral classes: type L (Kirkpatrick et al., 1999; Martín et al., 1999) and, more recently, type T, for Gl229B-like dwarfs (Strauss et al., 1999; Burgasser et al., 1999). The new surveys, however, also have the potential to revolutionise studies of late-type M dwarfs. Even if those objects are now a shade passé, analyses of enlarged samples can probe such fundamental parameters as the stellar mass function, $`\mathrm{\Psi }(M)`$, kinematics and the origin and range of magnetic activity close to the hydrogen-burning limit.

Photometric and spectroscopic data for nearby late-type M dwarfs are summarised in a series of papers by Kirkpatrick et al. (1995, 1997) and Henry et al. (1995, 1997). That sample includes 26 dwarfs with spectral types between M7 and M9.5, which, following Kirkpatrick et al. (1995), we designate ultracool M dwarfs. A minority of those sources were identified in deep photometric surveys by Reid & Gilmore (1981), Kirkpatrick et al. (1994), Tinney et al. (1993) and Kirkpatrick et al. (1997). The majority, however, were discovered through spectroscopic follow-up observations of faint red stars from proper motion surveys, primarily Luyten’s Palomar catalogues. As a result, a statistical analysis runs the risk of bias due to preferential inclusion of higher-velocity stars, which are more likely to be drawn from the older stars in the Galactic disk, while young, low space-motion objects, such as M-type brown dwarfs, lie undetected. The availability of near-infrared survey data provides the first opportunity for the construction of a substantial sample of ultracool M dwarfs using purely photometric criteria.

This paper presents high-resolution spectroscopic observations of 38 bright, ultracool M dwarfs and one L dwarf drawn from the 2MASS database. Our analysis has three main goals: first, an estimate of the fraction of ultracool dwarfs which exhibit detectable lithium absorption; second, the derivation of improved statistics on the distribution of rotational velocities; and, finally, a determination of the kinematics of these low luminosity dwarfs. We have also used the echelle spectra to study the range of chromospheric activity at these spectral types. The paper is structured as follows: section 2 describes sample selection and the spectroscopic observations; section 3 summarises the results of our search for lithium absorption; section 4 discusses our measurements of rotational velocities and comments on correlations with the level of chromospheric activity; section 5 considers the space velocity distribution; and section 6 presents our conclusions.

## 2 Sample selection and spectroscopic observations

### 2.1 Sample selection

Achieving the scientific goals outlined in the introduction requires high signal-to-noise observations at high spectral resolution of late-type M dwarfs. To that end, we have selected our targets from the 2MASS database using both colour and apparent magnitude criteria. 2MASS provides photometry in three passbands: J(1.25$`\mu m`$), H(1.6$`\mu m`$) and KS (2.2$`\mu m`$), where the subscript ‘S’ denotes that the passband is truncated at the long wavelength (thermal) limit as compared with the standard K passband (see Persson et al, 1999).

Our selection criteria are derived from the (MJ, (J-KS)) colour-magnitude diagram described by nearby stars and brown dwarfs with accurate ($`\frac{\sigma _\pi }{\pi }<15\%`$) trigonometric parallax measurements (Figure 1). The photometric data plotted in this figure are from Leggett (1992), the 2MASS database and Dahn et al. (2000). M dwarfs outline an almost-vertical main sequence with 0.8 $`<`$(J-K$`{}_{S}{}^{})<0.9`$ to M$`{}_{J}{}^{}10.5`$, corresponding to spectral types earlier than $``$M6. At lower luminosities, the main sequence moves redward: GJ 1111 (spectral type M6.5) has (J-KS)=1.04; VB8 (M7) has (J-KS)=1.05; VB10 (M8) has (J-KS)=1.10; and LHS 2924 (M9) has (J-KS)=1.17 magnitudes. (J-KS) continues to increase to a maximum value of $`2.1\pm 0.1`$ magnitudes for the latest-type L dwarfs, such as Gl 584C (L8, Kirkpatrick et al., 2000).

Our observations are aimed at ultracool M dwarfs, with spectral types between M7 and M9.5. Following Figure 1, the majority of our targets are chosen to have near-infrared colours in the range $`1.3(\mathrm{J}\mathrm{K}_S)1.1`$ and K$`{}_{S}{}^{}12.0`$ magnitudes. Table 1 lists positions, IJHKS photometry and spectral types for our sample. The 2MASS KS magnitudes have typical accuracies of $`\pm `$0.01 - 0.02 magnitudes, and the near-infrared colours have typical uncertainties of $`\pm 0.03`$ magnitudes. Most of the Cousins I-band magnitudes have been synthesised from flux-calibrated low-resolution spectra, obtained at either the Keck Observatory or at Las Campanas Observatory (see Gizis et al., 2000a, for details). Comparing these measurements against broadband data for stars with conventional photometry indicates uncertainties of $`\pm 0.1`$ magnitude.

Four dwarfs listed in Table 1 require comment: 2MASP J1242464+292619, or 2M1242+29 (we use this abbreviated form hereafter), 2M0339-35, 2M0149+29 and 2M2234+23. The last two are M9.5 dwarfs which have (J-K)$`{}_{S}{}^{}>1.3`$; both were identified as candidate L dwarfs. 2M1242+29 was identified in 2MASS Protocam JHK data (Kirkpatrick et al., 1997), and is significantly fainter than our formal magnitude limit, with K$`{}_{S}{}^{}=13.23`$. While we tabulate our observations of this star, we have not included it in any of the statistical analyses discussed further below. Finally, 2M0339-35 (LP944-20) meets our selection criteria, and was observed with HIRES, but inclement conditions (due to the high airmass) led to a low signal-to-noise spectrum. Fortunately, previously-published observations are available for this dwarf (Tinney, 1998; Basri, 2001), and we use those data in our analysis.

Even excluding 2M1242+29, the dwarfs listed in Table 1 do not constitute a complete, magnitude-limited sample. However, they are a randomly-chosen subset of 2MASS sources with the specified magnitudes and colours, and therefore should provide a representative sample (specifically, kinematically unbiased) of nearby ultracool dwarfs. Several of the stars in Table 1 are well-known late-type dwarfs with moderate or high proper motions; the remainder have been confirmed as ultracool dwarfs through intermediate-resolution spectroscopy, mainly by Gizis et al. (2000a; hereinafter, G2000). The thirty-nine dwarfs include fourteen with spectral types M7 or M7.5, fourteen of type M8/M8.5 and seven at M9/M9.5. Three of the remaining four dwarfs have spectral types M6/M6.5; the last is the brightest L dwarf currently known, 2M0746+20(L0.5), recently resolved as a near equal-mass binary through HST observations (Reid et al., 2001).

Figure 2 plots the JHK two-colour diagram for the sample, where we identify the different spectral types. The (J-KS) selection limit is apparent from the distribution. We use data for the parallax sample plotted in Figure 1 to outline the characteristic tilted-S shape of the main-sequence. The turnover in (J-H) at (H-K$`{}_{S}{}^{})0.2`$ stems from a combination of two factors: the wavelength dependence of H- opacity, which peaks at $`1.6\mu `$m, and a shallower temperature gradient as convection becomes more important at spectral types later than M1/M2 (Mould, 1976). The higher opacity places the photosphere at shallower depths and lower temperatures, reducing the total flux emitted in the H passband. The blueward trend reverses at spectral type $``$M5, as H- becomes a less important opacity source at lower temperatures, and (J-H) increases rapidly at later spectral types. Kirkpatrick et al. (2000) discuss the near-infrared colours of ultracool M and L dwarfs, and comment that the near-infrared absolute magnitudes are better correlated with spectral type than with (J-KS). The corresponding dispersion is evident in Figure 2: the three M6/M6.5 dwarfs are significantly redder than most of the M7/M7.5 dwarfs, while 2M0746+20 is not the reddest dwarf in the sample.

### 2.2 HIRES spectroscopy

High-resolution spectroscopic data were obtained of all targets using the HIRES echelle spectrograph on the Keck I telescope (Vogt et al, 1994). The observations were made on November 14 (UT), 1998, March 8, June 14-16 and December 29-30, 1999. Conditions were good throughout these runs, with clear skies and seeing between 0.7 and 0.9 arcseconds. We used a slit width of 0.86 arcsecond for all observations, giving data of resolution 2.9 pixels or R$`33000`$ (8.9 kms-1). While there are slight differences in the grating angles from run to run, our spectra span the wavelength range 6300 to 8600Å. Coverage is not continuous, due to the physical size of the $`2048^2`$ Tektronix CCD, but all of the spectra include the H$`\alpha `$ line, Li I 6708Å, the 7050Å TiO bandhead, the K I 7665/7699Å doublet and the 8432Å TiO bandheads.

Basic data reduction was undertaken using the suite of programs written by T. Barlow. The spectra were corrected for the instrumental response using flat fields taken with an internal tungsten lamp, and an optimal extraction algorithm applied to extract the individual orders in each frame. The wavelength scale is defined by thorium-argon arc-lamp exposures, taken at the beginning, middle and end of each night. We used standard iraf routines to determine the calibration, and intercomparison shows that the zeropoint is stable to $`\pm 1`$ kms-1 on any given night.

### 2.3 Chromospheric emission

All of the dwarfs observed possess emission lines indicative of chromospheric activity, although for LHS 2632 the emission lies at the threshold of detection, even with HIRES. The most prominent features are the H$`\alpha `$ lines, although many dwarfs also exhibit emission in the cores of the KI 7665/7699 doublet, while approximately 25% of the sample show noticeable He I 6678Å emission. Weak He I emission (EW $`<`$ 0.3Å) may be masked in other dwarfs by the complex TiO absorption in that part of the spectrum.

Table 2 lists the equivalent widths measured for the hydrogen and helium lines, and Figures 3 to 6 plot our spectra in the vicinity of the H$`\alpha `$ line. We also list the activity level, $`\frac{F_\alpha }{F_{bol}}`$, discussed further in §4. Two dwarfs stand out: 2M0320+18 (LP 412-31), with an H$`\alpha `$ equivalent width of 83Å, and 2M0350+18, where H$`\alpha `$ reaches an equivalent width of almost 40Å. As with the rest of the sample, these two dwarfs have previous spectroscopic measurements at these wavelengths, albeit at lower resolution. Gizis et al. (2000a) measure an H$`\alpha `$ equivalent width of 29Å in the former case, but failed to detect any emission from 2M0350+18. Evidently, both of the current observations were made while these two stars were undergoing strong flares.

Conversely, three dwarfs have significantly lower levels of activity in our spectra than measured in previous observations. Observations of 2M0149+29 during a substantial outburst are described by Liebert et al. (1999), while both LHS 2243 and LP 475-855 were significantly more active at the time of the low resolution observations described in G2000. These variations and the overall distribution of activity are discussed in more detail in §5.

### 2.4 Radial velocities

We have employed two methods to determine radial velocities for the dwarfs in the present sample. First, we measure the central wavelength of H$`\alpha `$ emission and correct the apparent radial velocity for heliocentric motion using the iraf routine vhelio. Those measurements are listed in column 5 of Table 2 as Vα. In most cases, we estimate measurement uncertainties of $`\pm `$2 to 3 kms-1; the exceptions are dwarfs with weak emission or broad H$`\alpha `$ profiles, such as LHS 2632, 2M1047+40A and TVLM 513-46546.

We have also determined radial velocities using standard cross-correlation routines. Given the seasonal variation in observing runs, and slight variations in the instrumental setup, we were unable to use the same radial velocity standard for all of the targets. Our observations are tied to three reference stars: LHS 2065 (M8) in March, 1999; Gl 412B (M5) in June, 1999; and Gl 83.1 (M4.5) in December. Marcy & Benitz (1989) measure a heliocentric radial velocity of -28.6 kms-1 for the last star, while Delfosse et al. (1998) cite V$`{}_{hel}{}^{}=68`$ kms-1 for both components of Gl 412. Finally, Tinney & Reid (1999) measure V$`{}_{hel}{}^{}=8.7\pm 1.5`$ kms-1 for LHS 2065.

Both Gl 83.1 and Gl 412B have earlier spectral types than the dwarfs in our sample. However, the cross-correlation peaks generally exceed 0.5 in height in orders dominated by TiO absorption, rather than by strong atomic absorption or emission lines. The velocities listed in column 6 of Table 2 (VCCF) are averaged from measurements of six to nine echelle orders, with the uncertainty reflecting the rms dispersion about the mean.

In general, there is good agreement between the radial velocities derived using the two methods. However, several dwarfs exhibit anomalies. Two are clearly binary: as Figure 7 shows, the cross-correlation spectra for both 2M0253+27 and 2M0952-19 exhibit two distinct peaks, characteristic of double-lined spectroscopic binaries. In the former case, the cross-correlation peaks have heights in the ratio 4:1 at 8000Å, with the blue-shifted component the stronger of the two; in the latter, the flux ratio is 2:1, again in favour of the component with the more negative velocity. We list CCF velocities for both components of those dwarfs in Table 2. Neither shows evidence for separable H$`\alpha `$ emission (Figures 3 & 4), so Vα presumably reflects a weighted average of the centroids of the individual emission lines. We note that 2M1550+30 shows an asymmetric cross-correlation peak (Figure 7), suggestive of an SB2 binary with a secondary close to the detection limit (as in figures 5 and 6, Reid & Mahoney, 2000; hereinafter, RM2000).

Four other dwarfs require comment: 2M0350+18, 2M1047+40B, 2M1336+47 and 2M2206-20. In each case, Vα and VCCF differ by more than 5 kms-1. The last three dwarfs are all fast rotators, with broad cross-correlation peaks and asymmetric H$`\alpha `$ profiles (Figure 3 to 6). The observed discrepancies probably arise in our estimation of the centroid of the H$`\alpha `$ line, and hence of Vα. 2M0350+18, in contrast, is a slow rotator, but has an unusual H$`\alpha `$ profile, with a narrow spike superimposed on a broad pedestal. This is reminiscent of one observation of the Hyades SB2 binary, RHy 42 (RM2000). In that case, the unusual morphology arises from the superposition of two normal H$`\alpha `$ profiles at a velocity separation of $`\mathrm{\Delta }V50`$kms-1. Our present data, however, show no evidence for binarity on the part of 2M0350+18. The H$`\alpha `$ profile of this star is discussed further below. In subsequent sections we adopt VCCF as the reference radial velocity for all the dwarfs in our sample.

As noted above, the repeatability of the thorium-argon calibration spectra indicate that our velocity calibration should be accurate to $`\pm 1`$ kms-1; this is generally supported by analysis of the night-sky emission spectra extracted from our data (as discussed in more detail by RM2000). We have a limited number of external tests of our measurements. Two late-type M dwarfs in the present sample were also observed by Tinney & Reid (1999): they measured radial velocities of V$`{}_{hel}{}^{}=0.6\pm 2`$ kms-1 for BRI1222 and V$`{}_{hel}{}^{}=8.1\pm 3`$ kms-1 for TVLM 513-46546; we measure velocities of $`5.6\pm 0.4`$ kms-1 and $`5\pm 6`$ kms-1, respectively. TVLM 513-46546 is one of the most rapidly rotating dwarfs in the present sample, as discussed further below, accounting for the large uncertainty in VCCF. The 5 kms-1 offset for BRI1222 exceeds the combined formal uncertainties of both measurements. Further observations are required to settle the discrepancy; we apply no adjustment to our measured velocities.

### 2.5 Rotation

Tonry & Davis (1979) demonstrated that the width of the peak of a cross-correlation function is dependent on the line profiles present in the template and program object. In the case of stars, the dominant contributor to line-width is usually rotational broadening, allowing measurement of the projected rotational velocity. The measured full-width half-maximum of the CCF peak is calibrated against $`v\mathrm{sin}i`$ by applying artificial broadening for a range of velocities to the spectrum of a slowly rotating star. We have adopted the line-profile prescription given by Gray (1982) and use this technique to estimate $`v\mathrm{sin}i`$ for the dwarfs in the present sample.

Our analysis generally follows the procedures described by RM2000. We have limited analysis to spectral orders spanning the wavelength range $`\lambda \lambda 73607460`$Å and $`\lambda \lambda 78407960`$Å, both covering regions which lack TiO bandheads, strong atomic lines and significant terrestrial absorption. The resulting measurements, using Gl 83.1, Gl 412B and LHS 2632 as templates, are given in Table 2. The intrinsic resolution of the HIRES data corresponds to a rotational velocity of $`v\mathrm{sin}(i)2.5`$ kms-1; however, both Gl 83.1 and Gl 412B are known to have higher rotational velocities (Table 2), and, as a result, our detection limits are effectively $`v\mathrm{sin}(i)4`$ kms-1 (12/99 data) and $`v\mathrm{sin}(i)6`$ kms-1 (6/99), respectively. Those limits are still sufficient to distinguish rapid rotators from more conventional late-type M dwarfs. Our third radial velocity standard, LHS 2065, has a modest rotational velocity (Basri, 2001), so we have used the slow rotator, LHS 2632, as the rotational reference for the March 1999 observations. We estimate velocity uncertainties of $`\pm 2`$ kms-1 at low $`v\mathrm{sin}i`$ and $`5`$ kms-1 for the fast rotators.

Basri (2001) has recently published rotational velocity measurements for more than 70 dwarfs with spectral types later than M5. The majority of these measurements are based on Keck HIRES data, and therefore have similar resolution to our dataset. There are nine dwarfs in common with our sample, and Table 3 compares the two sets of results. In general, the agreement is within the expected uncertainties. The exception is 2M1224-12 ($``$ BRI1222), where our measurement indicates modest rotation of 8 kms-1, as compared with only 2.0 kms-1 detected by Basri. Table 3 also shows that the star was significantly more active at the time of our observation. These results are discussed in more detail in §4.

## 3  Lithium in ultracool M dwarfs

A major goal of this project is determining the fraction of late-type M dwarfs in the Solar Neighbourhood which exhibit lithium absorption. As originally discussed by Rebolo et al. (1992), lithium fusion (Li7 \+ $`p`$ He4 \+ He4 ) requires a temperature of $`T_{Li}2\times 10^6`$K. Since hydrogen fusion occurs at $`T>3.5\times 10^6`$K, primordial lithium is destroyed rapidly in fully convective low-mass stars and higher-mass brown dwarfs. Objects with masses below a specific mass limit, $`M_{Li}`$, are predicted to have central temperatures lower than the critical threshold, TLi, even when evolving through the M dwarf régime, and these objects preserve lithium at its primordial abundance. The exact mass limit is model dependent, with current estimates of $`M_{Li}`$ ranging from 0.06 to 0.065 M (Chabrier & Baraffe, 1997; Ushomirsky et al., 1998); in any case, detection of Li 6708Å absorption in an L dwarf is a clear indication of substellar mass.

At higher masses, $`M>0.065M_{}`$, the rate of lithium depletion increases with increasing mass. This correlation permits the use of lithium detection as a mass discriminant in open clusters and the general field. Figure 8 plots theoretical tracks for low-mass stars and brown dwarfs, drawn from both the Burrows et al. (1997: the Arizona models) and the Baraffe et al. (1998: the Lyon models) sequences. The two sets of model calculations show good agreement for $`M<0.06M_{}`$, but differ at higher masses. In particular, the Lyon models place the hydrogen-burning limit at $`0.072M_{}`$, while a 0.075 $`M_{}`$ dwarf is a transition object in the Arizona calculations. The implications of these differences for the present analysis are discussed further below. For both sets of models, Figure 8 outlines the lithium-depletion locus, defined where the lithium abundance is predicted to drop to 1% of the primordial value. The critical effective temperature ranges from 3200K for a 0.1$`M_{}`$ star to $`2600`$K for a 0.065 $`M_{}`$ brown dwarf.

Spectral type is correlated primarily with effective temperature. Thus, Figure 8 can be used to predict the spectral type where lithium should become detectable in young and intermediate-age star clusters; alternatively, the observed spectral type (or luminosity) at the threshold for lithium detection can be used to infer the age of the cluster. Stauffer, Schultz & Kirkpatrick (1998) use the latter approach to estimate an age of 120 Myrs for the Pleiades, while Stauffer et al. (1999) derive an age of 90 Myrs for the $`\alpha `$ Persei cluster. M dwarfs in the general field span a wide range of ages. However, both sets of models plotted in Figure 8 indicate that the lithium depletion line meets the $`M=M_{Li}`$ evolutionary track at a temperature of $`2600`$K and an age of $`\tau 400`$ Myrs; that is, all dwarfs which deplete lithium have completed the depletion cycle by this age/temperature. As a corollary, any dwarf with an inferred effective temperature lower than 2600K and detectable lithium absorption is predicted to be a brown dwarf with a mass less than 0.065$`M_{}`$.

This characteristic behaviour allows us to probe the stellar mass function. The relative number of ultracool dwarfs with and without lithium absorption in our sample, $`F_{Li}`$, depends on the relative number of dwarfs with masses $`M<0.065M_{}`$ and $`M>0.065M_{}`$. Thus, if the immediate Solar Neighbourhood provides a fair sampling of the disk population, if our sample is an unbiased subset of local dwarfs, and if the stellar birthrate, B(t), is well behaved, then $`F_{Li}`$ depends on the shape of the mass function, $`\mathrm{\Psi }(M)`$: the steeper $`\mathrm{\Psi }(M)`$, the more low-mass dwarfs and the higher $`F_{Li}`$. As discussed further below, circumstances may prevent us from satisfying all the requisite conditional statements.

### 3.1 Lithium detections in the present sample

Our observations were designed specifically to include coverage of the Li 6708Å doublet, the strongest feature due to that species. Figures 9 to 12 plot our data for that region of the spectrum, marking with the expected location of the Li I doublet, adjusted for the apparent velocity at the time of observation. Table 2 lists the results: of the 39 ultracool dwarfs in the sample, two show unequivocal absorption at that wavelength, with one other possible detection. 2M0339-35 (LP 944-20) was known as an M-type brown dwarf prior to our observations (Tinney, 1998). As Figure 9 shows, 2M0335+23 stands out from the other dwarfs in the present sample, with a broad, distinct feature at the appropriate wavelength. This dwarf is strikingly similar to 2M0339-35, with comparable spectral type (M8.5 $`vs.`$ M9), nearly identical rotational velocity ( $`v\mathrm{sin}i=30`$kms-1 $`vs.`$ 28 kms-1) and lithium absorption of comparable strength. Our data suggest that 2M0335+23 is chromospherically more active, although the difference is within the range of variation for individual dwarfs (see §4). Given those characteristics, we identify 2M0335+23 as a brown dwarf, with a likely age of $`1`$ Gyrs and a mass of 0.06 $`M_{}`$.

The possible lithium detection is for the M8 dwarf, 2M1242+29. As noted above, this is fainter than the magnitude limit of our photometric sample, and the HIRES spectrum is correspondingly noisy. Nonetheless, there appears to be a relatively broad absorption feature at the appropriate wavelength for Li I 6708. This dwarf was discovered from observations undertaken with the prototype 2MASS camera (Kirkpatrick, Beichman & Skrutskie, 1997), and the Palomar spectrum obtained at that time does not have sufficient resolution or signal-to-noise to detect this relatively weak feature. If confirmed by further observations, the measured equivalent width suggests little lithium depletion, and indicates a mass below 0.065$`M_{}`$ for 2M1242+29.

Considering the sample as a whole, our observations indicate that 36 of the 39 ultracool dwarfs have masses above the lithium depletion limit. 2M0335+23, 2M0339-35 and possibly 2M1242+29 are identified as brown dwarfs with masses below $`0.065_{}`$. Of these three dwarfs, only 2M0335+23 and 2M0339-35 are included in the photometrically-selected sample.

### 3.2 Modelling the lithium fraction

Deriving $`F_{Li}`$ is a straightforward observational process. Subdividing our sample by spectral type, $`F_{Li}=6\pm 4\%`$ for spectral types M7 to M9.5 (2 of 35 dwarfs), and $`F_{Li}=10\pm 7\%`$ for spectral types M8 to M9.5 (2/20). Interpreting those measurements in terms of the shape of the mass function, $`\mathrm{\Psi }(M)`$, is more complicated, and requires use of the models plotted in Figure 8.

First, we require a relation between spectral type and effective temperature. As discussed elsewhere (Reid et al., 1999a - R99; Kirkpatrick et al., 2000), this calibration remains uncertain, largely due to the complex nature of atmospheres at these cool temperatures. Leggett et al.’s (1996) multiwavelength analysis sets a benchmark of T$`{}_{eff}{}^{}=2700`$K at spectral type M6.5 (GJ 1111), while current concensus places the boundary between the M and L spectral types at T$`{}_{eff}{}^{}=2050\pm 50`$K (Kirkpatrick et al., 2000; Schweizer et al., 2001, 2002). Given those results, we adopt the following temperature/spectral type relations:

$`2700T_{eff}>2050`$

$`2500T_{eff}>2050`$

Our goal is to compare predicted and observed values of $`F_{Li}`$ for a range of assumed mass function. We follow the techniques outlined by R99: Monte Carlo simulations are used to generate a sample of ‘dwarfs’ with known distance, $`d`$, and age, $`\tau `$; masses are drawn from a power-law mass function, $`\mathrm{\Psi }(M)M^\alpha `$; we assume a uniform birthrate, B(t), with $`10^{10}>\mathrm{t}>10^7`$ years, where t is lookback time (i.e. t=0 at the present epoch). Given $`M`$, $`\tau `$ and $`d`$, we compute mbol and Teff from the theoretical tracks, and, using the appropriate bolometric corrections (R99), calculate J, H and KS magnitudes. Based on those data, we identify dwarfs with $`K_S12.0`$ and temperatures in the relevant range, and compute the fraction predicted to have undepleted lithium.

The most significant complication in interpreting these model predictions is illustrated by Figures 13 and 14, which show simulated (mass, Teff) and (mass, age) distributions of ultracool dwarfs with K$`{}_{S}{}^{}<12`$ drawn from a power-law mass function with $`\alpha =1`$. With no internal energy source, brown dwarfs ‘cool like a rock’ (Burrows & Liebert, 1993), with the rate of cooling increasing with decreasing mass. Selecting a sample based on a fixed range in spectral type (temperature) is therefore equivalent to selecting dwarfs within a particular range of ages for a given mass. In particular, low-mass brown dwarfs (LMBDs - $`M<0.03M_{}`$) cool so rapidly that most enter the L dwarf régime by $`\tau 10^8`$ years (Figure 8); that is, LMBDs are only eligible for inclusion in an ultracool M dwarf sample for $`<10^8`$ years. As a result, our conclusions are vulnerable to systematic bias introduced either by the assumed stellar birthrate, or by age-specific inhomogeneities in the Solar Neighbourhood disk population.

Considering the stellar birthrate, we adopt the simplest assumption of a uniform star formation over the history of the disk. We considered this issue in our analysis of the sub-stellar mass function (R99), since the observed numbers of field L and T dwarfs are also dependent on the recent star formation history. We concluded that the available data, based primarily on the distribution of Ca II activity amongst G dwarfs (for example, Soderblom, Duncan & Johnson, 1991), were consistent with a uniform birthrate. More recently, Gizis et al. (2002, PMSU3) have re-examined this issue, and find that the distribution of chromospheric activity amongst nearby M dwarfs is also consistent with a relatively uniform age distribution. These results are in contrast to studies of the global star formation history, which tend to favour star formation rates that increase by an order of magnitude between the present epoch and redshift $`1.5`$ (Madau, Pozzetti & Dickinson, 1998). We note that if such a history were appropriate to the Galactic disk, then we would expect a higher proportion of long-lived, bona-fide stars amongst our ultracool sample.

Spatial inhomogeneities are a potential problem since young stars are not a well-mixed population, but tend to lie in or near star-forming regions. Such regions are absent from the immediate Solar Neighbourhood, suggesting that a local sample, such as that discussed here, might be deficient in such youthful objects relative to a global average over the disk. That deficiency manifests itself as fewer lithium-strong brown dwarfs, which, in turn, could lead to our underestimating $`\alpha `$, the power-law index of $`\mathrm{\Psi }(M)`$. On the other hand, there are some extremely young stars in the Solar Neighbourhood, notably the TW Hydrae association, $`\tau 2\times 10^7`$ years (Kastner et al., 1997). Moreover, approximately 1% of the G dwarfs in Henry et al.’s (1996) Ca II survey have activity levels consistent with ages of less 108 years (Soderblom, King & Henry, 1998). With distances of less than 50 pc., these stars are drawn from the same volume as our ultracool dwarf sample, although one should also note that, with a total sample of $`800`$ stars, subdividing on such a fine timescale leads to correspondingly high statistical uncertainties. In any case, we allow for possible age bias in the ultracool sample by applying several lower age limits, $`\tau _{min}`$, in the model calculations.

### 3.3 Results: constraints on $`\mathrm{\Psi }(M)`$

Table 4 summarises the results of our simulations. As noted above, we consider two observational samples: spectral types M7 to M9.5, $`F_{Li}=6\pm 4\%`$; and spectral types M8 to M9.5, $`F_{Li}=10\pm 7\%`$. The table lists predictions based on both the Arizona and Lyon theoretical tracks, and for mass-function indices $`0\alpha 2`$. We adopt the age/mass lithium depletion limits outlined in Figure 8 - 0.065 M for the Arizona models, and 0.07 to 0.06 M for the Lyon dataset. Relatively few brown dwarfs lie in this mass range, so changing those limits by $`\pm 0.005M_{}`$ has little effect on the results. The predicted percentage of dwarfs with detectable lithium are listed for lower age limits of 107, $`5\times 10^7`$ and 108 years.

The models allow us to quantify some issues raised in the introduction to this section. First, dwarfs with $`M>M_{Li}`$ make little contribution to $`F_{Li}`$ in either set of calculations. Even for the flattest mass function, $`\alpha =0`$, higher-mass, partially lithium-depleted brown dwarfs comprise less than 0.5% of the total, and the contribution of those objects becomes negligible for $`\alpha 1`$. Thus, absent other considerations, the lithium fraction provides a clean estimate of the slope of the underlying mass function.

Second, the quantitative results confirm the strong dependence of $`F_{Li}`$ on the effective lower age-limit, $`\tau _{min}`$, of the local sample. The systematic bias increases as the underlying mass function steepens, and the relative number of young LMBDs increases.

It is also clear that the two sets of models make significantly different predictions of $`F_{Li}`$ for a given value of $`\alpha `$: the Lyon models predict lithium fractions which are lower by almost a factor of two than those predicted by the Arizona models. As noted above, this reflects differences in modelling the stellar, rather than brown dwarf, régime. Figure 8 shows that the Lyon 0.075 and 0.09 $`M_{}`$ Lyon models essentially bracket the M7-M9 temperature range for $`\tau >2\times 10^9`$ years. In contrast, that region of the (Teff, $`\tau `$) plane is populated by a more restricted range of masses, $`0.078`$ to $`0.088M_{}`$, in the Arizona models. As the histograms in Figures 13 and 14 illustrate, the result is that the latter simulations predict fewer stellar-mass M7 to M9 dwarfs, and a correspondingly higher fraction of lithium-rich ultracool M dwarfs.

The correlation with $`\tau _{min}`$, and the systematic disagreement between the two sets of models complicate the interpretation of the observed value of $`F_{Li}`$ as a constraint on $`\mathrm{\Psi }(M)`$. Moreover, quantifying the comparison between the models and observation is difficult, not least because all of the relevant observational parameters (our estimates of $`F_{Li}`$ and the young G-dwarf fraction) have significant associated uncertainties. As a first cut, we assume a moderate bias against very young objects locally ($`\tau _{min}=0.05`$ Gyr.), and consider the constraints set if we require the predicted value of the lithium fraction fall within 1$`\sigma `$ of the observations.

Under those criteria, the Lyon models suggest that a power-law mass function is consistent only for $`\alpha <1.5`$, while predictions based on the Arizona models require a significantly flatter mass function, $`\alpha 0.5`$. The different indices reflect the relative contribution of stars and brown dwarfs to the ultracool sample; as discussed above, the Arizona models predict larger numbers of sub-stellar mass objects, and, as a result, require a flatter index to match the low lithium fraction in the observed sample. The derived indices are generally consistent with previous analyses, both based on the surface densities of L and T dwarfs in the field ($`\alpha 1.3`$, R99), and based on surveys of young clusters (Luhman et al., 2000; Luhman, 2000; Barrado y Navascués et al., 2001). In general, the open cluster analyses, where age is less of an uncertainty, favour flatter mass functions, with $`0.5<\alpha <1`$.

What do these estimates imply for the local density of brown dwarfs? Modelling the stellar mass function as a power-law, $`\alpha `$=1, for $`1.0>\frac{M}{M_{}}>0.075`$, then brown dwarfs are predicted to outnumber stars by $`5`$:1 for $`\alpha =1.5`$ between the hydrogen-burning limit and 0.01$`M_{}`$. The ratio is $`2:1`$, in the same sense, for $`\alpha =1.3`$ at low masses (R99). However, if $`\alpha =1.0`$, then sub-solar mass stars outnumber brown dwarfs by $`5:4`$, while the ratio rises to $`7:1`$ for $`\alpha =0.5`$. Converting to mass density, brown dwarfs add 40%, 20%, 7% and 1% to the local stellar mass density for $`\alpha =1.5,1.3,1.0`$ and 0.5, respectively.

Statistically, the most significant result from the present analysis is that the only means of matching a steep, Salpeter-like ($`\alpha `$2) mass function to the present observations is by depleting the immediate Solar Neighbourhood of all brown dwarfs younger than 108 years. As we noted above, the presence of active, $`<10^8`$-year old G dwarfs within that same volume argues against this extreme hypothesis. Thus, all current observational analyses indicate that it is extremely unlikely that brown dwarfs contribute substantially to the local mass density.

## 4 Rotation and Activity

Chromospheric activity in solar-type stars has long known to be well correlated with the stellar rotational velocity. That correlation is due to the presence of a magnetic $`\alpha \mathrm{\Omega }`$ (shell) dynamo, generated by a toroidal field located at the boundary between the radiative core and the convective envelope. Traditionally, this paradigm has been extended to M dwarfs, even though those stars are known to become fully convective at spectral type $``$M4, Hawley et al. (2000) outline an alternative model, where activity in mid- and late-type M dwarfs is driven largely by a turbulent dynamo (Durney et al., 1993) within the convection zone. The overall level of activity decreases significantly in dwarfs later than M9, with only a small number of L dwarfs showing detectable H$`\alpha `$ emission (G2000). This might reflect either decreased efficiency of the turbulent dynamo, or the formation of radiative zones, which inhibit the emergence of magnetic flux, or increased resistivity in the predominantly neutral atmospheres (Mohanty & Basri, 2002).

If magnetic activity in late-type M dwarfs is powered by turbulence, one expects little direct correlation between the level of activity and rotation. Hawley et al. (2000) analysed the relatively scarce data available at that time, and found no evidence for a significant correlation amongst late-type M dwarfs. This conclusion is generally confirmed by Basri (2001) for a sample which includes 26 ultracool M dwarfs, ten of which are in the present sample. The additional dwarfs observed here more than double the number of ultracool M dwarfs with known rotational velocities, allowing us to revisit this issue.

Chromospheric activity in late-type dwarfs is generally gauged by measuring the strength of H$`\alpha `$ emission. Table 2 lists equivalent width measurements for all of the dwarfs in the present sample. However, those data should not be used directly to characterise activity: the equivalent width of an emission line depends on the contrast with respect to the local continuum, rather than the absolute line flux. As one moves down the M dwarf sequence, the continuum flux emitted at 6560Å decreases, both in absolute terms and as a fraction of the bolometric flux. Thus, a 5Å equivalent width H$`\alpha `$ line in an M3 dwarf represents significantly more chromospheric flux than 5Å emission in an ultracool M9. Reid, Hawley & Mateo (1995a; hereinafter, RHM) originally suggested that the appropriate method of dealing with this issue is, following X-ray astronomy, computation of the normalised flux ratio, $`\frac{F_\alpha }{F_{bol}}\frac{L_\alpha }{L_{bol}}`$, the fraction of the luminosity emitted in H$`\alpha `$ emission.

In studying this issue, we have combined data from our own observations and Basri’s (2001) analysis, adopting our measurements for objects in common. All of the dwarfs in our sample have low resolution spectroscopy, allowing direct determination of the continuum flux at 6560Å, FC, and hence conversion of H$`\alpha `$ equivalent widths to flux measurements. Similar data exist for approximately half of the Basri sample; the remaining stars have either direct R-band photometry or (V-I) and/or (I-J) colour measurements, from which we can estimate (R-I) and hence R. Given FR, we estimate FC using the empirical relation derived by RHM, FC=1.45FR.

All of the dwarfs in our sample and most of the Basri dwarfs have JHK/KS photometry. As discussed above, there is little variation in the J-band bolometric corrections for dwarfs with spectral types between $``$M6 and L5; thus, for dwarfs with near-infrared data, we adopt

$$m_{bol}=J+2.1$$

The remaining dwarfs have I-band photometry. I-band bolometric corrections are small ($`<0.5`$ mag.) for ultracool dwarfs, and we estimate BCI from the relations given in Reid & Hawley (2000).

The derived flux ratios are listed in Table 2 with the equivalent width measurements. Figure 15a plots these results as a function of $`v\mathrm{sin}i`$, differentiating amongst the different spectral types. There is no evidence for a significant correlation, either within a given spectral type or for the sample as a whole. Nor is there evidence for a strong correlation between spectral type and rotation amongst the ultracool M dwarfs in our sample (Figure 15b). If we define fast rotators as dwarfs with $`v\mathrm{sin}i>20`$ kms-1, the relative number of fast and slow rotators is statistically identical at M7 (3/12), M8 (4/13) and M9 (1/7). There is marginal evidence that the lower envelope in $`v\mathrm{sin}i`$ increases to later spectral types: three of the seven M9/M9.5 dwarfs (43%) have $`v\mathrm{sin}i<10`$ kms-1 as compared with 11/15 (74%) of the M7/M7.5 dwarfs. As discussed by Basri (2001), all L dwarfs which have been observed at sufficient spectroscopic resolution to detect rotation have $`v\mathrm{sin}i10`$ kms-1.

Turning to chromospheric activity in the present sample, we can consider three issues: the mean level of activity, the dispersion in activity and the prevalence of substantial flares. All three issues are discussed extensively by G2000, based on lower-resolution spectroscopy of 60 late-M and L dwarfs. Our echelle observations resolve weaker H$`\alpha `$ emission than was possible in that analysis, and therefore extend coverage to lower activity levels, but the overall conclusions are unchanged.

Figure 15c plots activity, log($`\frac{F_\alpha }{F_{bol}}`$), as a function of spectral type for ultracool dwarfs from both the present sample and dwarfs from Basri (2001). The mean level of activity amongst field M0 to M6 dwarfs with H$`\alpha `$ emission is well defined at log($`\frac{F_\alpha }{F_{bol}})=3.9`$ (PMSU2, G2000). As Figure 15c shows, fewer than 10% of the ultracool dwarfs in our sample reach this level, with several dwarfs falling almost two orders of magnitude below the line. Our data reproduce the trend of decreasing activity with later spectral type which is illustrated more emphatically by the larger sample in G2000. Figure 15c also suggests that the additional dwarfs from Basri’s sample may exhibit lower activity at a given spectral type than the average from our sample. Many of those stars are proper-motion, rather than photometrically, selected. One might conjecture that the lower activity amongst the latter stars indicates a higher average age.

Finally, as mentioned in §2.3, two of the dwarfs in our sample, 2M0320+18 (LP 412-31) and 2M0350+18, have significantly stronger H$`\alpha `$ emission in our observations than in prior measurements. Our previous observation of LP 412-31 indicates a high level of activity, with a measured equivalent width of 40Å (G2000); however, no H$`\alpha `$ emission was detected in the same authors’ low-resolution spectrum of 2M0350+18, consistent with an equivalent width of less than 4Å. The inactivity of the latter star is particularly unusual, given that over 90% of the M8 and M9 dwarfs observed by G2000 have detectable emission (2M0350+18 is classed as M9 by G2000). Our current observations indicate increased activity by factors of two and at least 10 respectively. We note that the relative strength of the H$`\alpha `$ and He I 6678Å emission lines are comparable in spectra taken during both active and quiescent phases, suggesting little variation in the plasma temperature. There is also no evidence in the 2M0350+18 spectrum for any continuum distortion, such as was seen during the 2M0149 superflare (Liebert et al., 1999).

Ultracool dwarfs have been known to exhibit this type of behaviour since Herbig’s (1956) spectroscopy of VB 10, and Martín & Ardila (2001) summarise more recent flare observations. Our detection of two events amongst a sample of thirty-nine dwarfs, all with similar observing times, indicates an overall duty cycle of $``$5%, broadly consistent with previous estimates (Reid et al., 1999b; G2000; Martín & Ardila, 2001). However, there are qualitative differences between the two events detected here. RHM originally pointed out that variations of up to a factor of two in equivalent width were not uncommmon in repeated observations of active M dwarfs in both the Hyades and the field: the 2M0320+18 event detected here lies in this range of variation, as does the Martín (1999) observation of VB8. On the other hand, the flares observed in 2M0350+18 (this paper), BRI0021 (Reid et al., 1999b), LHS 2065 (Martín & Ardila, 2000), 2M0149+29 (Liebert et al., 1999), LHS 2397a (Bessell, 1991) and even VB 10 (Herbig, 1956) are significantly more energetic, with the H$`\alpha `$ flux enhanced by factors from 20 to $`>100`$. Spectroscopic monitoring of a sample of ultracool dwarfs would provide interesting information on the relative frequency of these events as a function of their intensity.

## 5  Distances and Kinematics

The primary aim in compiling a photometrically-selected sample of ultracool dwarfs is avoiding bias toward high-velocity, old M dwarfs. As a corollary, the current sample should provide reliable statistics on the solar motion and velocity dispersions of these late-type dwarfs. Those data, in turn, offer a means of probing the likely age distribution of the sample. Several previous analyses have suggested that ultracool dwarfs are younger, on average, than earlier-type M dwarfs (Hawkins & Bessell, 1988; Kirkpatrick et al., 1994; Reid, Tinney & Mould, 1994). The most extensive previous kinematic study, by Tinney & Reid (1999), found no statistical evidence that ultracool dwarfs were drawn from a different velocity distribution, but that analysis includes only 13 photometrically-selected dwarfs. We can re-examine this issue with our larger sample.

### 5.1 Distance determination

Our spectra provide direct measurement of radial velocities, and proper motions are available from the literature for most of the sample. All of the remaining targets in the photometrically-selected sample are easily visible on UKST and/or POSS II photographic sky survey plates; indeed, most are clearly detected on the POSS I E plates. As discussed by G2000, those data, combined with 2MASS astrometry, provide sufficient baseline for proper motion measurements. All of the proper motion measurements are listed in Table 5.

Deriving transverse velocities, however, requires both proper motion measurements and distance estimates. Trigonometric parallaxes have been measured for only 8 of the 37 systems in our photometrically-defined sample. For the remaining dwarfs, we must resort to photometric parallax. All of the dwarfs have JHKS photometry, so we can follow G2000 and estimate MK from the the (J-KS) colours using the following relation,

$$M_K=7.593+2.25\times (JK_S),\sigma _{rms}=0.36\mathrm{mag}.$$

However, there is a potential complication, in that the current sample was colour-selected, with the requirement (J-K$`{}_{S}{}^{})>0.95`$. This opens the possibility for bias, since the dispersion in the (MJ, (J-KS) main-sequence at higher luminosities is sufficient to allow redder, higher luminosity stars to scatter into the sample (Figure 1). This is highlighted by the location of the M6 dwarfs in Figure 2.

Fortunately, most of the dwarfs in the photometrically-defined sample also have I-band photometry, either based on direct measurements or synthesised from our low-resolution spectroscopy. We can use those colours to estimate distances based on the photometric parallax calibration derived by Reid & Cruz (2002),

$`M_I`$ $`=`$ $`16.49116.499(IJ)+14.003(IJ)^24.717(IJ)^3+0.697(IJ)^4`$
$`0.0330(IJ)^5,1.65(IJ)<4.0,\sigma =0.31\mathrm{mag}.,37\mathrm{stars}`$
Figure 16 compares distance moduli derived from the limited trigonometric parallax data and from the (J-KS) and (I-J) colour indices. The upper panel shows that there is no evidence for a systematic difference between the trigonometric and photometric indicators, which is not surprising, since several of these dwarfs were included in calibrating the latter. One star deserves special comment: the (I-J) and (J-KS) photometric parallaxes for RG0050.5 are in excellent agreement, indicating a distance of 30.5 parsecs, while trigonometric measurements give 22.2 parsecs. Thus, this star is bluer than expected, and lies $`0.7`$ magnitudes below the mean relation for M8 dwarfs.

There is, however, a clear systematic trend when we compare the photometric distance indicators, with the (J-KS) calibration tending to derive lower distances (by $`20\%`$), and fainter absolute magnitudes. We find

$$\delta (mM)=(mM)_{IJ}(mM)_{JK}=0.35\pm 0.11,29\mathrm{stars}$$

Given this comparison, we use (I-J) in preference to (J-KS) in computing the distances listed in Table 5. The uncertainties therein are based on the dispersions in the calibrating colour-magnitude relations.

### 5.2 Kinematics of ultracool dwarfs

We have used our distances estimates for each dwarf to derive Vα and Vδ from the proper motion measurements, and combined those data with the radial velocity to derive the Galactic space motions listed in Table 5. The velocity distribution is shown in Figure 17. Following the convention of the Catalogue of Nearby Stars (Gliese, 1969), the (U, V, W) motions are defined as a right-handed system (U positive towards the Galactic Centre).

If we consider the sample as a whole (including all 37 systems which meet the apparent magnitude selection criteria), the mean motions and dispersions are

$$(\mathrm{U},\mathrm{V},\mathrm{W};\sigma _U,\sigma _V,\sigma _W)=(23.9,14.6,9.5;31.1,16.2,16.6)\mathrm{kms}^1$$
(1)
Excluding 2M0746+20 and the two M6/M6.5 dwarfs results in minimal changes,

$$(\mathrm{U},\mathrm{V},\mathrm{W};\sigma _U,\sigma _V,\sigma _W)=(23.7,14.2,9.3;32.1,17.1,16.9)\mathrm{kms}^1$$
(2)
The two most extreme outliers in the velocity distribution are 2M0109+29 (M9.5) and 2M1403+30 (M8.5), Both are identified in Figure 17, and in both cases the significant uncertainties reflect the extent to which the velocity estimates rest on the transverse motions. Excluding those two dwarfs from the analysis gives

$$(\mathrm{U},\mathrm{V},\mathrm{W};\sigma _U,\sigma _V,\sigma _W)=(18.5,12.1,9.8;26.7,15.9,15.9)\mathrm{kms}^1$$
(3)
based on data for 31 ultracool dwarfs (M7 – M9.5).

We have used different symbols in figure 17 to identify dwarfs of different spectral type. Inspection of those diagrams shows limited evidence for significant variation in kinematics, and that conclusion is broadly confirmed by statistical analysis. Given the small sample size, we can only subdivide to a limited extent. However, we have computed mean motions for the fourteen M7/M7.5 dwarfs, finding

$$(\mathrm{U},\mathrm{V},\mathrm{W};\sigma _U,\sigma _V,\sigma _W)=(20,13,10;32,21,14)\mathrm{kms}^1$$
(4)
and for the fourteen M8/M8.5 dwarfs,

$$(\mathrm{U},\mathrm{V},\mathrm{W};\sigma _U,\sigma _V,\sigma _W)=(18,16,7;27,17,15)\mathrm{kms}^1$$
(5)
These two sets of results are statistically indistinguishable. We therefore take the kinematics listed in equation 2, derived from 34 M7 to M9.5 dwarfs, as characteristic of the ultracool dwarf sample.

We can compare these results against similar analyses of higher-mass M dwarfs. Hawley et al. (PMSU2) have calculated space motions for a volume complete sample of early- and mid-type M dwarfs in the Solar Neighbourhood, making an explicit division between stars with and without H$`\alpha `$ emission. Combining data for all M dwarfs, they derive

$$(\mathrm{U},\mathrm{V},\mathrm{W};\sigma _U,\sigma _V,\sigma _W)=(10,21,8;38,26,21)\mathrm{kms}^1$$
(6)
For non emission-line dM dwarfs, they derive

$$(\mathrm{U},\mathrm{V},\mathrm{W};\sigma _U,\sigma _V,\sigma _W)=(9,23,8;41,27,21)\mathrm{kms}^1$$
(7)
The velocity dispersions are significantly higher than our measurements for ultracool dwarfs. In contrast, for the emission line dwarfs, they find

$$(\mathrm{U},\mathrm{V},\mathrm{W};\sigma _U,\sigma _V,\sigma _W)=(12,13,8;27,20,15)\mathrm{kms}^1$$
(8)
values much closer to the analysis of the ultracool sample.

Dahn et al. (2002) have recently undertaken a similar comparison, using tangential velocities for a sample of 28 ultracool dwarfs, including eight with spectral type M8 to M9.5, 17 L dwarfs and 3 T dwarfs. There are only two stars in common with the present sample. However, they also find that the kinematics of this L-dwarf dominated sample are very similar to those of the PMSU dMe stars.

Velocity dispersions provide only a one-dimensional parameterisation of the velocity distribution; in particular, they provide no indication of how well the overall distribution matches a Gaussian. Probability plots (Lutz & Upgren, 1980) serve that function: a Gaussian distribution gives a straight line if one plots the cumulative distribution in units of the measured standard deviation, $`\sigma `$. Figure 18 plots such data for the U, V and W distributions defined by the 34 systems in our ultracool dwarf sample (M7-M9.5), 73 dMe systems and 355 dM systems. The latter are volume-limited samples with $`\delta >30^o`$ and absolute magnitudes in the range $`7.0\mathrm{M}_\mathrm{V}<15.0`$ (M0 to M6, see Reid, Hawley & Gizis, 1995; PMSU1). There is clearly much closer agreement between the distributions outlined by the ultracool dwarfs and the dMe dwarfs.

We can compare these distributions quantitatively using the Kolmogorov-Smirnov test. That comparison shows that there is a probability of more than 10% that the ultracool dwarfs and dMe stars are drawn from the same kinematic population: the two datasets are statistically indistinguishable. However, while the same holds for a comparison between the W-velocity dispersion of the ultracool dwarfs and the dM sample, there is a probability of less than 5% that the U and V distributions are drawn from the same parent population. Comparing the ultracool dwarf sample against the complete PMSU1 dataset (dM+dMe) reveals inconsistencies at the same level, as one might expect given the predominance of the non-emission line M dwarfs.

Can the relatively low space motions of the ultracool dwarfs be attributed to a systematic error in our distance scale? The present sample were identified using photometric criteria (location in the (KS, (J-Ks)) plane), and most have distance estimates derived from photometric parallax. Our use of (I-J) rather than (J-KS) should compensate to a large extent for stars introduced into the sample through scatter in colour (as illustrated in Figure 16). However, the dispersion in absolute magnitude about the mean main sequence can also lead the inclusion of higher luminosity, more distant stars, and a statistical underestimation of both the average distances and tangential velocities.

We can estimate the likely extent of this effect using classical Malmquist bias: if we select stars from a uniform density distribution, the mean absolute magnitude of the sample, $`\overline{M}`$, is given by

$$\overline{M}=M_01.38\sigma ^2$$
(9)
where M0 is the mean absolute magnitude of a volume limited sample, and $`\sigma `$ the rms uncertainty associated with the absolute magnitude calibration. The (MI, (I-J)) relation has a dispersion of 0.31 magnitudes; the (MK, (J-KS)) calibration given by G2000 has a dispersion of 0.36 magnitudes. Adopting the latter value gives a statistical offset of 0.18 magnitudes in equation 9, or an average underestimate of $`9\%`$ in distance. We have re-calculated the kinematics for the 34 M7 to M9.5 dwarfs, increasing all of the distances (including trigonometric parallax measurements) by 10%. The resultant kinematics are

$$(\mathrm{U},\mathrm{V},\mathrm{W};\sigma _U,\sigma _V,\sigma _W)=(24.7,15.4,9.7;34.2,18.6,17.5)\mathrm{kms}^1$$
(10)
These still fall short of the M dwarf kinematics given in equation (6).

Our conclusion is that the ultracool dwarfs in the present sample have kinematics which are statistically very similar to those of Solar Neighbourhood dMe dwarfs. The velocity dispersions are significantly lower than those of the non-emission line M dwarfs in the local old disk population, but intriguingly similar to the mean kinematics of the L-dwarf dominated sample analysed by Dahn et al. (2002).

### 5.3 Discussion

An obvious candidate for the observed discrepancy between the kinematics of ultracool M dwarfs and the average kinematics of earlier-type M dwarfs is a difference in mean age between the two samples. H$`\alpha `$ emission declines with age (at a mass-dependent rate), so the dMe sample has a younger mean age than the dM sample, and, as a consequence, cooler kinematics. If we assume a constant star formation rate over the history of the disk, the relative numbers in the dM and dMe samples suggest that the latter stars are drawn from the most recent 15-20% of disk star formation, or ages up to 2 Gyrs for a canonical 10-Gyr disk. Matching the velocity dispersions of the dMe sample against Jahreiß & Wielen’s (1983) calibration gives a slightly older age, $`\tau =3\pm 1`$ Gyrs. The similar kinematics shown by the ultracool dwarfs suggests that they also have ages of $`\tau <2`$ to 3 Gyrs.

Is an age difference a physically reasonable explanation for the different kinematics of dM and ultracool dwarfs? In the case of the Dahn et al. analysis, that hypothesis is not unreasonable, since a significant fraction of the L and T dwarfs in their sample are likely to be substellar mass brown dwarfs. Given the apparent similarity in motions, it is tempting to ascribe the results of our current analysis to the same underlying cause.

However, as Figures 8, 13 and 14 show, we expect M-type ultracool dwarfs to include a mixture of very low-mass stars and brown dwarfs, with the former dominating the sample. All M dwarfs have main-sequence lifetimes well in excess of a Hubble time, so both the ultracool dwarfs and the PMSU1 dM+dMe sample should include representation from the oldest stars in the Galactic disk. Our simulations predict an average age of $`4.5`$ Gyrs for $`\tau _{max}=10`$ Gyrs and a uniform birthrate. Given a near-exponential birthrate, such as that favoured by cosmological studies (Madau et al, 1998), the average age rises to $`7`$ Gyrs. In either case, the observed velocity dispersions of the ultracool dwarfs are significantly lower than expected for a sample dominated by hydrogen-burning dwarfs.

If we accept that kinematics are reliably correlated with age, and that our observations provide a fair sample of the ultracool dwarf population, then there appear to be two possible explanations for these observational results:

1. the Solar Neighbourhood is deficient in very low-mass ($`M<0.09M_{}`$) dwarfs older than $`4`$ Gyrs. This might reflect sampling of the local disk population, or a significant increase in star formation within the last 5 Gyrs (that is, opposite to the cosmological trend favoured by Madau et al., 1998). Such a change seems unlikely, although most age indicators, such as chromospheric activity, become less reliable at ages exceeding $`2`$ Gyrs. In any event, this conclusion implies a steepening in the inferred mass function at low masses, since analyses assume that the observed numbers of low-mass stars reflect formation throughout the entire lifetime of the disk.
2. low-mass dwarfs have lifetimes of $`<4`$ Gyrs as M7 to M9.5 dwarfs. This effectively requires that the majority of ultracool dwarfs are high-mass brown dwarfs or transition objects (the return of M dwarfs as brown dwarfs in masquerade). That hypothesis, in turn, requires that either the spectral-type/temperature scale adopted here is incorrect, in the sense that late-type dwarfs lie at cooler temperatures (i.e an adjustment in the opposite sense to that favoured by Basri et al., 2001), or that both sets of evolutionary models plotted in Figure 8 are incorrect in their location of the hydrogen-burning limit.

If the latter option is correct, and brown dwarfs dominate the ultracool sample, then we also require a flat or decreasing decreasing mass function ($`\alpha <0.5`$) to accommodate the observed lithium fraction.

The referee has suggested that significant revision in the evolutionary models is unlikely given the good agreement between those models and observations of the binary brown dwarf, Gl 569Bab (Lane et al., 2001). We note, however, that the agreement hinges on the age of 300 Myrs associated with the system. That age estimate derives partly from the observed levels of chromospheric and coronal activity of the primary, Gl 569A, which Lane et al. argue are consistent with an age between 0.2 and 1 Gyr, and partly from an hypothesised association with the Ursa Major moving group (Kenworthy et al., 2001). Analysing data for higher-mass (M$`{}_{V}{}^{}<7`$) members, Soderblom & Mayor (1993) use isochrone fitting to derive an age of 300 to 400 Myrs for the latter moving group.

Closer inspection of the data, however, suggest an older age. First, the observed radial velocity of $`6.9\pm 1.0`$ kms-1 (Gizis et al., 2002) is significantly different from the predicted value of -0.6 kms-1 (Madsen et al., 2002). This peculiar velocity corresponds to a drift of $`6.5`$ pc Myr.-1 relative to the centroid of the moving group, or more than 2 kpc. over its lifetime. This suggests that membership is unlikely. Second, the intrinsic properties of Gl 569A favour an older age: Gl 569A has a level of X-ray activity ($`\frac{L_X}{L_{bol}}`$) matching the average level of Hyades stars of similar luminosity and spectral type (age $`600`$ Myrs); the chromospheric activity ($`\frac{L_\alpha }{L_{bol}}`$) is lower than most of Hyades dwarfs; and the star lies in the middle of the (MV, (V-I)) main-sequence defined by nearby field dwarfs. All of these properties are more consistent with an age between 0.6 and 1 Gyr. than the $`300`$ Hyrs favoured by Lane et al. Adopting the older ages leads to evolutionary masses of 0.07 to 0.09 M for both components of Gl 569Bab, and a predicted total mass 20 to 50% higher than the dynamical measurement of $`0.123_{0.022}^{+0.027}M_{}`$.

It remains possible that the sample of ultracool dwarfs discussed in this paper is biased in some respect. We are currently undertaking a large-scale survey which aims to identify all ultracool dwarfs within 20 parsecs of the Sun (Cruz et al., in prep.). High resolution observations of those dwarfs, coupled with trigonometric parallax measurements, should help solidify our understanding of this issue.

## 6 Conclusions

We have presented high-resolution optical spectroscopy of 39 ultracool dwarfs. Our prime goal is the detection of absorption due to Li I at 6708Å, an unequivocal indication of substellar mass at these temperatures. Two dwarfs exhibit significant absorption: LP 944-20, identified previously as a brown dwarf by Tinney (1998), and 2MASSW J0335020+234235. Both are included in a 33-dwarf photometrically-selected sub-sample, spanning spectral types M9.5 to M7. We have compared the observed fraction of lithium-rich dwarfs, $`F_{Li}`$, against predictions from simulations based on theoretical tracks calculated for low-mass dwarfs by both Burrows et al. (1997) and Baraffe et al. (1998), employing a range of power-law mass functions and assuming a constant birthrate. Our models show that $`F_{Li}`$ depends strongly on the proportion of young ($`\tau <10^8`$ years) dwarfs in the Solar Neighbourhood, a result stemming from the correlation between mass and cooling time, and reflecting the temperature range spanned by ultracool dwarfs. Moreover, the two sets of theoretical trackss predict lithium fractions which differ by over 50%. Nonetheless, it seems clear that the observed values of $`F_{Li}=6\pm 4`$% for M7 to M9.5 dwarfs, and $`10\pm 7`$% for M8 to M9.5 dwarfs, are only consistent with near-Salpeter mass functions ($`\alpha >2`$) if the Solar Neighbourhood is completely deficient of brown dwarfs with ages $`\tau <10^8`$ years. This seems unlikely, given the observed distribution of chromospheric activity amongst G dwarfs in the same volume.

We have also considered the rotational properties of our sample of ultracool dwarfs, and the correlation between rotation and chromospheric activity. Our observations confirm Hawley et al.’s (2000) conclusion that there is no significant correlation between the latter two parameters for late-type M dwarfs. The relative number of fast ($`v\mathrm{sin}i>20`$ kms-1) and slow rotators is invariant with spectral type, although there is marginal evidence that the average rotational velocity of M9/9.5 dwarfs is higher than amongst earlier types. The range of chromospheric activity exhibited in our observations is consistent with previous studies (G2000; Basri, 2001), with the typical H$`\alpha `$ flux lying below the mean level for earlier-type M dwarfs. Two of the 39 dwarfs have H$`\alpha `$ fluxes in our observations which are significantly higher than previous measurements. The inferred duty cycle of 5% for flare outbursts is consistent with previous estimates for late-type dwarfs.

Finally, we have combined our radial velocity measurements with proper motion data and distance estimates to derive space motions for the ultracool dwarfs in our sample. The mean kinematics are almost identical to those derived by Hawley et al. (1996) for a volume-limited sample of M0 to M6 emission-line dwarfs. This result is surprising, given that the ultracool dwarf sample is expected to be dominated by long-lived, very low-mass stars, with an average age of 4 to 5 Gyrs (for a disk age of 10 Gyrs). This discrepancy raises serious questions concerning both the existence of possible biases in the sampling of the Galactic Disk stellar populations offered in the immediate Solar Neighbourhood, and the reliability of evolutionary models for low mass stars and brown dwarfs. Detailed analysis of high-resolution spectroscopic observations of a larger sample of ultracool dwarfs is required before those questions can be answered in a satisfactory manner.

We thank the referee for useful comments. The initial research for this project was supported partially by a Core Science grant from the 2MASS project. This publication makes use of data products from the Two Micron All Sky Survey, which is a joint project of the University of Massachusetts and the Infrared Processing and Analysis Center/California Institute of Technology, funded by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration and the National Science Foundation.


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# Phenomenological study of solar-neutrino-induced 𝛽𝛽 process of ¹⁰⁰Mo

## 1 Introduction

The nature and the masses of the neutrinos has not yet been established phenomenologically . The problem of the neutrino mass scale can be solved only by combining the neutrino oscillation data with the phenomenology of neutrinoless double-beta decay ($`0\nu \beta \beta `$ decay).

The observed fluxes of solar neutrinos are much reduced compared with theoretical predictions based on the standard solar model (SSM) . It has been confirmed in different solar-neutrino experiments: Homestake , Kamiokande , SAGE , GALLEX , and Super-Kamiokande . Recently announced result by the Sudbury Neutrino Observatory (SNO) has shown clear indication of neutrino oscillation , i.e., of beyond standard model physics. In particular, there is a strong evidence that $`\nu _e`$ from the sun are converted to $`\nu _\mu `$ or $`\nu _\tau `$.

The great challenge of solar-neutrino research is to make accurate measurements of neutrinos with energy less than 1 MeV. We remind that more than 98% of the calculated solar-neutrino flux lies in this energy region. Especially, the $`\mathrm{pp}`$ neutrinos represent the dominant mode of neutrino emission from the sun. It is worthwhile to notice that the prediction of the $`\mathrm{pp}`$ neutrino flux is almost solar-model independent. New generation of low threshold solar-neutrino experiments are in preparation (BOREXINO) or under consideration (GENIUS, HERON, HELLAZ, LENS, MOON, XMASS …). The measurements of the total flux, flavor content, energy spectrum, and time dependence of the fundamental neutrinos are planned by using advantage of detection both charged and neutral weak currents as well as of the neutrino-electron scattering.

In the framework of some of future experiments (GENIUS, MOON, XMASS) simultaneous spectroscopic studies of the $`0\nu \beta \beta `$ decay and study of low energy solar neutrinos will be performed. In the MOON detector with 10 tons of $`{}_{}{}^{100}\mathrm{Mo}`$ solar neutrinos are proposed to be detected by inverse $`\beta `$ decay . We note that $`{}_{}{}^{100}\mathrm{Mo}`$ is suitable for charge current registration of solar neutrinos due to low threshold of $`0.168\mathrm{MeV}`$, what allows observation of low energy $`\mathrm{pp}`$ neutrinos.

In this contribution we analyze the possibility of detection of solar neutrinos via neutrino-induced double-beta process ($`\beta \beta `$-process) of $`{}_{}{}^{100}\mathrm{Mo}`$. We note that the $`\beta \beta `$ process induced by neutrinos was discussed for the first time in connection with detection of reactor neutrinos and artificial sources in Refs. . Here, we present the predictions for the solar neutrinos absorption rates by assuming the standard solar model and different neutrino oscillation scenarios. The subject of our interest is also the background coming from the two-neutrino double-beta decay of $`{}_{}{}^{100}\mathrm{Mo}`$ in registration of solar neutrinos of different origin. Finally, new modes of induced $`\beta \beta `$ process, $`\beta ^{}\beta ^+`$ and $`\beta ^{}/EC`$ channels, are introduced and discussed.

## 2 Cross-section of the neutrino induced $`\beta \beta `$ process

The neutrino induced double-beta transition (induced $`\beta \beta `$ transition) ,

$$\nu _e+(A,Z)(A,Z+2)+2e^{}+\overline{\nu }_e,$$
(1)
is a reaction allowed within the Standard model. It is a second order process in the weak interaction, observation of which by the help of reactor-neutrino flux has been found possible due to resonant enhancement of the corresponding amplitude depending on the width of the intermediate nuclear state . Below, we briefly present the theory of the induced $`\beta \beta `$ process concerning ground state to ground state nuclear transition.

The differential cross section of the induced $`\beta \beta `$ process can written as

$$\frac{d\sigma (\epsilon _\nu )}{d\epsilon _1d\epsilon _2}=\frac{(G_\beta )^4g_A^4m_e^4}{8\pi ^5}\pi _1\epsilon _1F(\epsilon _1,Z_f)\pi _2\epsilon _2F(\epsilon _2,Z_f)(w_0\epsilon _1\epsilon _2+\epsilon _\nu )^2K_{GT}$$
(2)
with $`\pi _k=p_k/m_e`$, $`\epsilon _k=E_k/m_e`$ ($`k=1`$, $`2`$) and $`\epsilon _\nu =E_\nu /m_e`$. $`p_k`$ and $`E_k`$ are momenta and energies of electrons, respectively. $`E_\nu `$ denotes energy of the incident neutrino. $`F(\epsilon _1,Z_f)`$ is Coulomb correction factor, $`w_0`$ is the energy difference of the target and final nuclei in units of electron mass. Factor $`K_{GT}`$ containing the energy denominators is given by

$$K_{GT}=\frac{3}{4}\left(\left|\underset{m}{}(K_m+L_m)\right|^2+\frac{1}{3}\left|\underset{m}{}(K_mL_m)\right|^2\right)$$
(3)
with

$`K_m`$ $`=`$ $`\left[(\epsilon _m+{\displaystyle \frac{1}{2}}i\gamma _m\epsilon _i+\epsilon _1\epsilon _\nu )^1+(\epsilon _m+{\displaystyle \frac{1}{2}}i\gamma _m\epsilon _i+\epsilon _2+\epsilon _{\overline{\nu }_2})^1\right]`$
$`\times `$ $`0_{g.s.}^+,f{\displaystyle \underset{i}{}}\tau _i^+\stackrel{}{\sigma }_i1_m^+1_m^+{\displaystyle \underset{i}{}}\tau _i^+\stackrel{}{\sigma }_i0_{g.s.}^+,i,`$
$`L_m`$ $`=`$ $`\left[(\epsilon _m+{\displaystyle \frac{1}{2}}i\gamma _m\epsilon _i+\epsilon _1+\epsilon _{\overline{\nu }_2})^1+(\epsilon _m+{\displaystyle \frac{1}{2}}i\gamma _m\epsilon _i+\epsilon _2\epsilon _\nu )^1\right]`$ (4)
$`\times `$ $`0_{g.s.}^+,f{\displaystyle \underset{i}{}}\tau _i^+\stackrel{}{\sigma }_i1_m^+1_m^+{\displaystyle \underset{i}{}}\tau _i^+\stackrel{}{\sigma }_i0_{g.s.}^+,i.`$
Here, $`\epsilon _m=E_m/m_e`$ and $`\gamma _m=\mathrm{\Gamma }_m/m_e`$. $`E_m`$ and $`\mathrm{\Gamma }_m`$ are energy and width of the $`m`$-th $`1^+`$ intermediate nuclear state, respectively. $`\epsilon _{\overline{\nu }_2}`$ is the energy of outcoming entineutrino in unit of $`m_e`$. $`|0_{g.s.}^+,i`$, $`|0_{g.s.}^+,f`$ and $`|1_m^+`$ denote wave functions of initial, final and intermediate nuclear states, respectively.

The factors $`K_m`$ and $`L_m`$ are similar to those entering the expression for two-neutrino double-beta decay ($`2\nu \beta \beta `$ decay) amplitude with one important difference. The sign in front of the energy of incoming neutrino is changed to minus. Than two of four denominators in Eq. (4) exhibit singular behavior if the incident neutrino energy is larger than the threshold for creation of a real state of the intermediate nucleus

$$\epsilon _\nu >1+\epsilon _m\epsilon _i,(m<m^{RS}).$$
(5)
$`\epsilon _{m^{RS}}`$ denotes the energy of highest lying excited state of the intermediate nucleus satisfying relation (5).

The total cross-section is calculated by keeping in mind that widths of low lying states of the intermediate nucleus are very small in comparision with their energies due to electromagnetic and weak decay channels. After performing integration over the energies of outgoing electrons in Eq. (2), we obtain

$`\sigma (\epsilon _\nu )`$ $`=`$ $`{\displaystyle \frac{(G_\beta )^4g_A^4m_e^6}{2\pi ^4}}{\displaystyle \underset{m=0}{\overset{m^{RS}}{}}}|0_{g.s.}^+,f||{\displaystyle \underset{i}{}}\tau _i^+\stackrel{}{\sigma }_i||1_m^+1_m^+||{\displaystyle \underset{i}{}}\tau _i^+\stackrel{}{\sigma }_i||0_{g.s.}^+,i|^2`$ (6)
$`\times `$ $`{\displaystyle \frac{1}{\gamma _m}}\pi _r^{(m)}\epsilon _r^{(m)}F(Z_f,\epsilon _r^{(m)}){\displaystyle \underset{1}{\overset{\epsilon _m\epsilon _f}{}}}𝑑\epsilon _2\pi _2\epsilon _2F(Z_f,\epsilon _2)(\epsilon _m\epsilon _f\epsilon _2)^2,`$
where $`\epsilon _r^{(m)}=\epsilon _\nu \epsilon _m+\epsilon _i`$. We note that the dominant contribution to the cross-section comes from the transitions through the real states of the intermediate nucleus ($`m<m^{RS}`$) and that contribution of transitions through virtual intermediate states (like in $`2\nu \beta \beta `$ decay) is negligible (suppressed by factor $`\gamma _m`$).

Next, we introduce the partial width $`\gamma _{mf}`$ of $`m`$-th state of the intermediate nucleus associated with the $`\beta ^{}`$ transition to the ground state of final nucleus. We have

$`\gamma _{mf}={\displaystyle \frac{(G_\beta )^2g_A^2m_e^4}{2\pi ^3}}|0_{g.s.}^+,f||{\displaystyle \underset{i}{}}\tau _i^+\stackrel{}{\sigma }_i||1_m^+|^2{\displaystyle \underset{1}{\overset{\epsilon _m\epsilon _f}{}}}𝑑\epsilon _2\pi _2\epsilon _2F(Z_f,\epsilon _2)(\epsilon _{m_0}\epsilon _f\epsilon _2)^2.`$ (7)
It allows us to write the total cross-section of the neutrino-induced $`\beta \beta `$-process in a compact form

$$\sigma (\epsilon _\nu )=\underset{m=0}{\overset{m^{RS}}{}}\sigma _\beta ^{(m)}(\epsilon _\nu )\frac{\gamma _{mf}}{\gamma _m},$$
(8)
where $`\sigma _\beta ^{(m)}(\epsilon _\nu )`$ represents the cross-section of the neutrino-induced single-$`\beta `$ decay from the ground state of the initial nucleus to the $`m`$-th state of the intermediate nucleus:

$$\sigma _\beta ^{(m)}(\epsilon _\nu )=\frac{(G_\beta )^2g_A^2m_e^2}{\pi }|1_m^+||\underset{i}{}\tau _i^+\stackrel{}{\sigma }_i||0_{g.s.}^+,i|^2\pi _r^{(m)}\epsilon _r^{(m)}F(Z_f,\epsilon _r^{(m)}).$$
(9)
The total width $`\gamma _m`$ of the $`m`$-th excited state of the intermediate nucleus is much larger as the partial $`\beta `$ width $`\gamma _{mf}`$ due to preferably electromagnetic deexcitation to lower lying states. However, in the case of ground state of the intermediate nucleus there is a different situation, in particular $`\gamma _{mf}/\gamma _m1`$. Thus the transition through the lowest state of the intermediate nucleus gives the dominant contribution to the total cross section of the induced $`\beta \beta `$ process (see Eq. (8)). We note that a different situation can be in case of the neutrino-induced $`\beta \beta `$ process with emission of $`\gamma `$-ray, which has origin in electromagnetic deexcitation of levels of the intermediate nucleus. The details of this process we expect to discuss in next publication.

From the above study it follows that electrons emitted in the neutrino-induced $`\beta \beta `$ process exhibit different behavior from those in the $`2\nu \beta \beta `$ decay, which is considered to be the major background in some of planned solar-neutrino detectors. The induced $`\beta \beta `$ transition can be to a good approximation considered as two subsequent independent processes (see Eq. (8)) the induced single-$`\beta ^{}`$ transition to the ground state of intermediate nucleus followed by nuclear $`\beta ^{}`$ decay to the ground state of final nucleus. The time delay between both $`\beta `$ processes is about 20 second for A=100 system. It is worthwhile to notice that in the $`2\nu \beta \beta `$ decay electrons are emitted simultaneously. In addition, they are strongly correlated what allows to eliminate $`2\nu \beta \beta `$ decay background through coincidence measurements.

## 3 Solar neutrino absorption rates for $`{}_{}{}^{100}\mathrm{Mo}`$

The solar neutrino absorption rates for $`{}_{}{}^{100}\mathrm{Mo}`$ are important in the evaluation of detector for planned MOON experiment. In this section we present complementary and more detailed calculations to those of Ref. .

The absorption rate of solar neutrinos from the source $`s`$ is given by

$$R_\nu =\sigma (\epsilon _\nu )\rho _s(\epsilon _\nu )𝑑\epsilon _\nu .$$
(10)
Here, $`\rho _s(\epsilon _\nu )`$ is the spectrum of incident solar-neutrino flux. The total cross-section $`\sigma (\epsilon _\nu )`$ of the neutrino-induced $`\beta \beta `$ process is given in Eq. (8).

The nuclear level scheme for solar-neutrino-induced $`\beta \beta `$-transition of $`{}_{}{}^{100}\mathrm{Mo}`$ is presented in Fig. 1. The dominant nuclear transitions are realized through $`1^+`$ states of the intermediate nucleus. The corresponding Gamow-Teller strengths have been determined experimentally by measuring the electron capture and $`\beta `$-decay rates of $`{}_{}{}^{100}\mathrm{Tc}`$ ($`\mathrm{log}ft_\beta =4.60`$)  as well as of cross-section of the $`{}_{}{}^{100}\mathrm{Mo}(^3\mathrm{He},t)^{100}\mathrm{Tc}`$ reaction .

In Table (1) we present solar-neutrino signal rates per day in $`10`$ tones of $`{}_{}{}^{100}\mathrm{Mo}`$, assuming there are no oscillations of neutrinos. We note that transitions through higher excited states of the intermediate nucleus are strongly suppressed. There transitions were estimated by assuming $`\gamma `$-deexcitation to the ground state of the intermediate nucleus. We remind that neutrino-induced $`\beta \beta `$ transition through excited intermediate states (without accompanying $`\gamma `$-ray emission) is strongly suppressed due to small ratio $`\gamma _{mf}/\gamma _m`$.

In calculation we used energy distribution of solar neutrinos predicted by the standard solar model . The probability density for emission of single electron of given energy induced by solar neutrinos of a given source is plotted in Fig. (2). The solar-neutrino absorption rate for $`{}_{}{}^{100}\mathrm{Mo}`$ is compared with those for $`{}_{}{}^{37}\mathrm{Cl}`$ and $`{}_{}{}^{71}\mathrm{Ga}`$ isotopes (see Table 2). We note that detector built of $`{}_{}{}^{100}\mathrm{Mo}`$ isotope allows to register significantly larger amount of solar neutrinos as it is in the case of $`{}_{}{}^{37}\mathrm{Cl}`$ and $`{}_{}{}^{71}\mathrm{Ga}`$. It is due to lower threshold for solar-neutrino absorption by this isotope. The relevant thresholds for $`{}_{}{}^{100}\mathrm{Mo}`$, $`{}_{}{}^{37}\mathrm{Cl}`$ and $`{}_{}{}^{71}\mathrm{Ga}`$ targets are $`0.168MeV`$, $`0.817MeV`$ and $`0.235MeV`$, respectively.

It is worthwhile to notice that there are also other standard model allowed channels of the neutrino-induced $`\beta \beta `$-transition ($`\beta ^{}/EC`$ and $`\beta ^{}\beta ^+`$ modes), which have been not discussed in literature yet. For $`{}_{}{}^{100}\mathrm{Mo}`$ target they are given by

$`\nu _e+^{100}\mathrm{Mo}^{100}\mathrm{Mo}+e^{}+e^++\nu _e(\beta ^{}/EC),`$
$`\nu _e+e^{}+^{100}\mathrm{Mo}^{100}\mathrm{Mo}+e^{}+\nu _e(\beta ^{}\beta ^+).`$ (11)
The corresponding cross-sections of these reactions can be calculated by omitting the term $`L_m`$ in Eqs. (2), (3) and (4). In addition, in the case of $`\beta ^{}/EC`$ mode one has to replace $`\epsilon _2`$ with $`1`$ and to modify appropriate the normalization of one electron. The cross-sections of these modes are of the form given in Eq. (8), however, $`\gamma _{mf}`$ represents the partial width of $`m`$-th intermediate $`1^+`$ state of $`{}_{}{}^{100}\mathrm{Tc}`$ in respect to $`\beta ^+`$ or $`EC`$ decay channels. For the ground state of $`{}_{}{}^{100}\mathrm{Tc}`$ we have: $`\gamma _{mf}/\gamma _m=0.0018(EC),0(\beta ^+)`$. Thus, $`\beta ^{}/EC`$ mode is suppressed in comparison with the $`\beta ^{}\beta ^{}`$ one by about of three orders of magnitude. In the case of $`\mathrm{pp}`$ solar neutrinos the corresponding absorption rate is $`1.2`$ SNU ($`2.3`$ events per year in $`10`$ tones of $`{}_{}{}^{100}\mathrm{Mo}`$). The $`\beta ^{}\beta ^+`$ mode is undetectable for this type of detector.

Nowadays, we have a strong indication in favor of solar neutrino oscillations coming from SNO experiment . There are different scenarios for mixing of neutrinos, which differ very little in their predictions. Usually, one vacuum oscillation solution and three MSW solutions of the deficit of solar neutrino events are considered. They are the Small Mixing Angle, the Large Mixing Angle, the LOW $`\mathrm{\Delta }m^2`$ solutions. In Table 3 we discuss the solar neutrino deficit assuming SMA, LMA, LOW and vacuum oscillation schemes for neutrinos of different origin. We notice that LMA and LOW solar neutrino absorption rates are close each to other for all types of neutrinos. The SMA solution offers considerably smaller values especially in the case of $`\mathrm{pp}`$, $`\mathrm{pep}`$ and $`{}_{}{}^{7}\mathrm{Be}`$ neutrinos.

## 4 Conclusions

The solar-neutrino anomaly is a controversial problem, which attracts attention of both theoreticians and experimentalists for a long time. New experimental data and theoretical ingredients have to be merge to give reliable predictions for oscillation parameters.

In this contribution the charged current solar neutrino absorption is discussed in context of the neutrino-induced $`\beta \beta `$ process. We have shown that to a good approximation, this process can be considered as neutrino-induced $`\beta `$-decay followed by single-$`\beta `$ decay. This fact allows to identify clearly the $`2\nu \beta \beta `$ decay background in planned solar neutrino experiments.

Moreover, complementary theoretical study in respect to the MOON project is presented. Solar-neutrino absorption rates are calculated by assuming SSM neutrino flux spectrum. The probability density for emission of single electron is evaluated. A comparison of the SSM prediction for absorption of neutrinos in $`{}_{}{}^{100}\mathrm{Mo}`$ is compared with those of most favored neutrino oscillation scenarios.