Infrared observations of the Pleiades

We also use the new photometry with previously published photometry to define the single-star main-sequence locus at the age of the Pleiades in a variety of color-magnitude planes. The new near- and mid-IR photometry extend effectively 2 mag deeper than the 2MASS All-Sky Point Source catalog, and hence allow us to select a new set of candidate very low-mass and substellar mass members of the Pleiades in the central square degree of the cluster.

We identify 42 new candidate members fainter than K_s_=14 (corresponding to 0.1M_{sun}_). These candidate members should eventually allow a better estimate of the cluster mass function to be made down to of order 0.04M_{sun}_. We also use new IRAC data, in particular the images obtained at 8um, in order to comment briefly on interstellar dust in and near the Pleiades.