The infrared excess emission from nearby Gaia DR2 M dwarfs

We use Gaia DR2 data to search for M dwarfs with infrared (IR) excess, within 100 pc. By cross-matching Gaia with AllWISE and 2MASS catalogues, we select a subset of K/M dwarfs with reliable photometric data in both the optical and near-to-mid IR. Using our SED fitting pipeline, we determine a photospheric model for each star and determine its significance of excess (SOE) in WISE passbands W3 and W4, which is used to classify potential IR excess. Through exhaustive vetting procedures, we present 37 new late-type ER-excess candidates, most of them M dwarfs, along with analyses of 12 previously known IR-excess stars. We group our candidates into two categories based on their SOE and likelihood of contamination. We also perform an isochronal age analysis as well as a moving group membership analysis, and discover six potential moving group members belonging to # Pictoris, Argus, Carina, Columba, and Tucana/Horologium Moving Groups. We conclude with a discussion of the nature of IR excess around late-type stars.