High Proper Motion Discoveries from the UKIRT Hemisphere Survey

November 2025 • 2025AJ....170..277Z

Authors • Zhang, Wings • Schneider, Adam C. • Bickle, Thomas P. • Burgasser, Adam J. • Softich, Emma • Marocco, Federico • Bardalez Gagliuffi, Daniella • Faherty, Jacqueline K. • Meisner, Aaron M. • Kirkpatrick, J. Davy • Kuchner, Marc J. • Kabatnik, Martin • Kiwy, Frank • Sainio, Arttu • Schümann, Jör • Selg-Mann, Karl • Stevnbak Andersen, Nikolaj • Baller, Bruce • Beaulieu, Paul • Bell, John • Caselden, Dan • Colin, Guillaume • Dereveanco, Alexandru • Frank, Christoph • Glebov, Konstantin • Gramaize, Léopold • Hamlet, Leslie K. • Martin, David W. • Pendrill, William • Perlin, Stéphane • Stenner, Andres • Tanner, Christopher • Thévenot, Melina • Thakur, Vinod

Abstract • We used the third data release of the UKIRT Hemisphere Survey to locate previously unrecognized high proper motion objects. We identify a total of 127 new discoveries with total proper motions ≳300 mas yr⁻¹. A significant fraction of these sources with counterparts in the Gaia DR3 catalog are found to be distant (>100 pc) low-mass stars, where their large tangential velocities and placement on color─magnitude diagrams suggest that they are likely low-metallicity M-type subdwarfs. Optical spectroscopy is used to confirm the low mass and low metallicity for two such sources. Using available optical and infrared photometry, we estimate the spectral type for all non-Gaia sources and find 10 likely late-M dwarfs, 15 objects with colors most consistent with L-type dwarfs, and nine possible T-type dwarfs. Follow-up spectroscopy is needed to confirm spectral types and further characterize these new discoveries.

Links

• PDF https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3847/1538-3881/ae0ad5/pdf
• PREPRINT http://arxiv.org/abs/2509.22605
• ELECTR https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-3881/ae0ad5