The mass-luminosity relation for late-type stars has long been a critical tool for estimating stellar masses. However, there is growing need for both a higher-precision relation and a better understanding of systematic effects (e.g., metallicity). Here we present an empirical relationship between M K S and M * spanning 0.075M < M * < 0.70M . The relation is derived from 62 nearby binaries, whose orbits we determine using a combination of Keck/NIRC2 imaging, archival adaptive optics data, and literature astrometry. From their orbital parameters, we determine the total mass of each system, with a precision better than 1% in the best cases. We use these total masses, in combination with resolved K S magnitudes and system parallaxes, to calibrate the M K S -M * relation. The resulting posteriors can be used to determine masses of single stars with a precision of 2-3%, which we confirm by testing the relation on stars with individual dynamical masses from the literature. The precision is limited by scatter around the best-fit relation beyond measured M * uncertainties, perhaps driven by intrinsic variation in the M K S -M * relation or underestimated uncertainties in the input parallaxes. We find that the effect of [Fe/H] on the M K S -M * relation is likely negligible for metallicities in the solar neighborhood (0.0±2.2% change in mass per dex change in [Fe/H]). This weak effect is consistent with predictions from the Dartmouth Stellar Evolution Database, but inconsistent with those from MESA Isochrones and Stellar Tracks (at 5σ). A sample of binaries with a wider range of abundances will be required to discern the importance of metallicity in extreme populations (e.g., in the Galactic halo or thick disk).

We present a new high‐mass membership of the nearby Sco OB2 association based on Hipparcos positions, proper motions and parallaxes, and radial velocities taken from the 2nd Catalogue of Radial Velocities with Astrometric Data (CRVAD‐2). The Bayesian membership selection method developed makes no distinction between subgroups of Sco OB2 and utilizes linear models in calculation of membership probabilities. We select 436 members, 88 of which are new members not included in previous membership selections. We include the classical non‐members α‐Cru and β‐Cru as new members as well as the pre‐main‐sequence stars HIP 79080 and 79081. We also show that the association is well mixed over distances of 8° on the sky, and hence no determination can be made as to the formation process of the entire association.

The census of Taurus-Auriga has been assembled over seven decades and inherited the biases and incompleteness of the input studies. The unusual shape of its inferred initial mass function (IMF) and the existence of isolated diskbearing stars suggest that additional (likely disk-free) members remain to be discovered. We therefore have begun a global reassessment of the census of Taurus-Auriga that exploits new data and better definitions of youth and kinematic membership. As a first step, we reconsider the membership of all disk-free candidate members from the literature with spectral type F0, a < < 3 50 5 40 h m h m , and d  < <  14 34 . We combine data from the literature with Keck/HIRES and UH88/SNIFS spectra to test the membership of these candidates using the positions in the Hertzsprung-Russel diagram, proper motions, radial velocities, Hα, lithium, and surface gravity. We find 218 confirmed or likely Taurus members, 160 confirmed or likely interlopers, and only 18 that lack sufficient evidence to draw firm conclusions. A significant fraction of these stars (81/218 = 37%) are not included in the most recent canonical member lists. There are few additional members to the immediate vicinity of the molecular clouds, preserving the IMFs that have been deemed anomalous in past work. Many of the likely Taurus members are instead distributed broadly across the search area. When combined with the known disk hosts, our updated census reveals two regimes: a high-density population with a high disk fraction (indicative of youth) that broadly traces the molecular clouds, and a low-density population with low disk fraction (hence likely older) that most likely represents previous generations of star formation.

Open clusters and young stellar associations are attractive sites to search for planets and to test theories of planet formation, migration, and evolution. We present our search for, and characterization of, transiting planets in the 800 Myr old Praesepe (Beehive, M44) Cluster from K2 light curves. We identify seven planet candidates, six of which we statistically validate to be real planets, the last of which requires more data. For each host star we obtain high-resolution NIR spectra to measure its projected rotational broadening and radial velocity, the latter of which we use to confirm cluster membership. We combine low-resolution spectra with the known cluster distance and metallicity to provide precise temperatures, masses, radii, and luminosities for the host stars. Combining our measurements of rotational broadening, rotation periods, and our derived stellar radii, we show that all planetary orbits are consistent with alignment to their host star's rotation. We fit the K2 light curves, including priors on stellar density to put constraints on the planetary eccentricities, all of which are consistent with zero. The difference between the number of planets found in Praesepe and Hyades (8 planets, 800 Myr) and a similar dataset for Pleiades (0 planets, 125 Myr) suggests a trend with age, but may be due to incompleteness of current search pipelines for younger, faster-rotating stars. We see increasing evidence that some planets continue to lose atmosphere past 800 Myr, as now two planets at this age have radii significantly larger than their older counterparts from Kepler.

We present the discovery that UScoCTIO 5, a known spectroscopic binary in the Upper Scorpius star-forming region, is an eclipsing system with both primary and secondary eclipses apparent in K2 light curves obtained during Campaign 2. We have simultaneously fit the eclipse profiles from the K2 light curves and the existing RV data to demonstrate that UScoCTIO 5 consists of a pair of nearly identical M4.5 stars withThe radii are broadly consistent with pre-main-sequence ages predicted by stellar evolutionary models, but none agree to within the uncertainties. All models predict systematically incorrect masses at the 25%-50% level for the HR diagram position of these mid-M dwarfs, suggesting significant modifications to mass-dependent outcomes of star and planet formation. The form of the discrepancy for most model sets is not that they predict luminosities that are too low, but rather that they predict temperatures that are too high, suggesting that the models do not fully encompass the physics of energy transport (via convection and/or missing opacities) and/or a miscalibration of the SpT-T eff scale. The simplest modification to the models (changing T eff to match observations) would yield an older age for this system, in line with the recently proposed older age of Upper Scorpius (τ ∼ 11 Myr).

We confirm and characterize a close-in (P orb = 5.425 days), super-Neptune sized (5.04 +0.34 −0.37 R ⊕ ) planet transiting K2-33 (2MASS J16101473-1919095), a late-type (M3) pre-main sequence (11 Myr-old) star in the Upper Scorpius subgroup of the Scorpius-Centaurus OB association. The host star has the kinematics of a member of the Upper Scorpius OB association, and its spectrum contains lithium absorption, an unambiguous sign of youth (< 20 Myr) in late-type dwarfs. We combine photometry from K2 and the ground-based MEarth project to refine the planet's properties and constrain the host star's density. We determine K2-33's bolometric flux and effective temperature from moderate resolution spectra. By utilizing isochrones that include the effects of magnetic fields, we derive a precise radius (6-7%) and mass (16%) for the host star, and a stellar age consistent with the established value for Upper Scorpius. Follow-up high-resolution imaging and Doppler spectroscopy confirm that the transiting object is not a stellar companion or a background eclipsing binary blended with the target. The shape of the transit, the constancy of the transit depth and periodicity over 1.5 years, and the independence with wavelength rules out stellar variability, or a dust cloud or debris disk partially occulting the star as the source of the signal; we conclude it must instead be planetary in origin. The existence of K2-33b suggests close-in planets can form in situ or migrate within ∼ 10 Myr, e.g., via interactions with a disk, and that long-timescale dynamical migration such as by Lidov-Kozai or planet-planet scattering is not responsible for all short-period planets.

We present 237 new spectroscopically confirmed pre-main-sequence K and M-type stars in the young Upper Scorpius subgroup of the Sco-Cen association, the nearest region of recent massive star formation. Using the Wide-Field Spectrograph at the Australian National University 2.3 m telescope at Siding Spring, we observed 397 kinematically and photometrically selected candidate members of Upper Scorpius, and identified new members by the presence of Lithium absorption. The HR-diagram of the new members shows a spread of ages, ranging from ∼3-20 Myr, which broadly agrees with the current age estimates of ∼5-10 Myr. We find a significant range of Li 6708 equivalent widths among the members, and a minor dependence of HR-diagram position on the measured equivalent width of the Li 6708Å line, with members that appear younger having more Lithium. This could indicate the presence of either populations of different age, or a spread of ages in Upper Scorpius. We also use Wide-Field Infrared Survey Explorer data to infer circumstellar disk presence in 25 of the members on the basis of infrared excesses, including two candidate transition disks. We find that 11.2±3.4% of the M0-M2 spectral type (0.4-0.8 M ) Upper Sco stars display an excess that indicates the presence of a gaseous disk.

Multiplicity is a fundamental property that is set early during stellar lifetimes, and it is a stringent probe of the physics of star formation. The distribution of close companions around young stars is still poorly constrained by observations. We present an analysis of stellar multiplicity derived from APOGEE-2 spectra obtained in targeted observations of nearby star-forming regions. This is the largest homogeneously observed sample of high-resolution spectra of young stars. We developed an autonomous method to identify double lined spectroscopic binaries (SB2s). Out of 5007 sources spanning the mass range of ∼0.05-1.5 M , we find 399 binaries, including both RV variables and SB2s. The mass ratio distribution of SB2s is consistent with a uniform for q < 0.95 with an excess of twins with q > 0.95. The period distribution is consistent with what has been observed in close binaries (< 10 AU) in the evolved populations. Three systems are found to have q ∼0.1, with a companion located within the brown dwarf desert. There are not any strong trends in the multiplicity fraction (MF) as a function of cluster age from 1 to 100 Myr. There is a weak dependence on stellar density, with companions being most numerous at Σ * ∼ 30 stars/pc −2 , and decreasing in more diffuse regions. Finally, disk-bearing sources are deficient in SB2s (but not RV variables) by a factor of ∼2; this deficit is recovered by the systems without disks. This may indicate a quick dispersal of disk material in short-period equal mass systems that is less effective in binaries with lower q.