Where the Wild Young M Dwarfs Are: the SUPERBLINK Proper Motion Survey and a Search for Low-mass Moving Group Candidates

Abstract

The SUPERBLINK survey catalogs all stars brighter than R = 19 mag and with proper motions larger than 40 mas yr⁻¹, down to a declination of −33^○. The catalog inevitably includes a significant fraction of the presumed low-mass members of several nearby young moving groups (Beta Pic, AB Dor, Tuc-Hor, Argus), or low-mass escapees from the Hyades and Pleiades clusters. We discuss opportunities and challenges in identifying the missing M dwarf members of these moving groups. While rounding up the majority of the potential M dwarf members of these groups, such samples are significantly affected by co-moving field stars, both young and old, due to the heavy clumping of the local field population in velocity space.