Name:	Silverstein, Michele
Email:	silverstein@astro.gsu.edu
Institution:	Georgia State University
Title:	Circumstellar Environments of Red Dwarfs in the Solar Neighborhood
Topic:	Discoveries
Abstract:	Michele L. Silverstein (2,1), Todd J. Henry (2), Wei-Chun Jao (2), Jennifer G. Winters (2,1) 1 Physics & Astronomy, Georgia State University, Atlanta, GA, United States. 2 RECONS, Chambersburg, PA, United States. We present the first results from SIRENS, the Search for InfraRed Excesses around Nearby Stars. Our goal is to characterize the circumstellar environments of the most common and closest stars in the Universe, the ubiquitous red dwarfs. In this phase of the study, we search 1404 southern M dwarfs within 25 parsecs of the Sun, as reported in Winters et al. 2015, using (Johnson-Kron-Cousins) optical, (2MASS) near-infrared, and (WISE) mid-infrared photometry for circumstellar disks and low-mass companions. Several studies have recently used WISE photometry to detect circumstellar disks and companions --- searches around members of the nearby young moving groups, objects with parallaxes from Hipparcos, and many northern M stars in the SDSS. To knowledge of the authors, no work has yet been done that focuses on the nearest red dwarfs, which account for at least 75% of all stars. In future work, we will also assemble a pool of photometry and astrometry data for nearby red dwarfs in the northern sky using the RECONS 25 Parsec Sample, which will soon include about 700 additional objects from MEarth-North. Combining both hemispheres, this study, an all-sky, volume-limited search around an estimated 3000 red dwarfs, will include statistical conclusions applicable to a majority of the stars in the universe, and open potential gateways to a better understanding of star and planet formation.