Related papers: Testing Models with Brown Dwarf Binaries

The coolest known brown dwarfs are our best analogs to extrasolar gas-giant planets. The prolific detections of such cold substellar objects in the past two years has spurred intensive followup, but the lack of accurate distances is a key…

We present Keck laser guide star adaptive optics imaging of the M8+M8 binary 2MASS J2206-2047AB. Together with archival HST, Gemini-North, and VLT data, our observations span 8.3 years of the binary's 35 year orbital period, and we…

The presence of low mass, degenerate secondaries in millisecond pulsar binaries offers the opportunity to determine an age for the binary system independent of the rotational properties of the pulsar. To this end, we present here a detailed…

Using astrometric measurements obtained with the FORS2/VLT camera, we are searching for low-mass companions around 20 nearby ultracool dwarfs. With a single-measurement precision of 0.1 milli-arcseconds, our survey is sensitive to a wide…

We examine the evolution of low-mass star and brown dwarf eclipsing binaries. These objects are rapid rotators and are believed to shelter large magnetic fields. We suggest that reduced convective efficiency, due to fast rotation and large…

We report parallax measurements for 70 ultracool dwarfs (UCDs). Using both literature values and our sample, we report new polynomial relations between spectral type and M$_{JHK}$. Including resolved L/T transition binaries in the…

In the present work we compare in detail some of the major theoretical libraries with observations, aiming at detecting weaknesses and strengths from the stellar population modelling point of view. We compared model predictions and…

Stellar ages are extremely difficult to determine and often subject to large uncertainties, especially for field low-mass stars. We plan to carry out a calibration of the decrease in high-energy emissions of low-mass GKM stars with time,…

We present Keck near-infrared imaging of three binary L dwarf systems, all of which are likely to be sub-stellar. Two are lithium dwarfs, and a third exhibits an L7 spectral type, making it the coolest binary known to date. All have…

Ultra-cool brown dwarfs offer a unique window into understanding substellar atmospheric physics and chemistry. Their strong molecular absorption bands at infrared wavelengths, Jupiter-like radii, cool temperatures, and lack of complicating…

We present a comparative study of effective temperatures determined from the hydrogen Balmer lines and from the UV energy distribution for 140 DA white dwarfs drawn from the IUE archive. Our results indicate that the optical and UV…

After decades of brown dwarf discovery and follow-up, we can now infer the functional form of the mass distribution within 20 parsecs, which serves as a constraint on star formation theory at the lowest masses. Unlike objects on the main…

Up to now, most planet search projects have concentrated on F to K stars. In order to considerably widen the view, we have stated a survey for planets of old, nearby brown dwarfs and very low mass stars. Using UVES, we have observed 26…

Evidence from the analysis of eclipsing binary systems revealed that late-type stars are larger and cooler than predicted by models, and that this is probably caused by stellar magnetic activity. In this work, we revisit this problem taking…

Ultra-cool dwarfs as wide companions to subgiants, giants, white dwarfs and main sequence stars can be very good benchmark objects, for which we can infer physical properties with minimal reference to theoretical models, through association…

Binary properties are an important diagnostic of the star and brown dwarf formation processes. While wide binaries appear to be rare in the sub-stellar regime, recent observations have revealed Ophiuchus 162225-240515 (2MASS…

We present new determinations of effective temperature, surface gravity, and masses for a sample of 46 hot DA white dwarfs selected from the EUVE and ROSAT Wide Field Camera bright source lists in the course of a near-IR survey for low mass…

Thanks to their continuous cooling and relative simplicity, white dwarf stars are routinely used to measure the ages of stellar populations. The usefulness of white dwarfs as cosmochronometers depends on the availability of accurate cooling…

We present the current status of the analytic theory of brown dwarf evolution and the lower mass limit of the hydrogen burning main sequence stars. In the spirit of a simplified analytic theory we also introduce some modifications to the…

The atmospheres of brown dwarfs orbiting in close proximity to their parent white dwarf represent some of the most extreme irradiated environments known. Understanding their complex dynamical mechanisms pushes the limits of theoretical and…