Related papers: Ultracool Dwarf Science from Widefield Multi-Epoch…
We report the identification of 89 new systems containing ultracool dwarf companions to main sequence stars and white dwarfs, using the citizen science project Backyard Worlds: Planet 9 and cross-reference between Gaia and CatWISE2020.…
Although ultracool dwarfs (UCDs) are now known to generate and dissipate strong magnetic fields, a clear understanding of the underlying dynamo is still lacking. We have performed X-ray and radio observations of seven UCDs in a narrow range…
The multiplicity properties of brown dwarfs are critical empirical constraints for formation theories, while multiples themselves provide unique opportunities to test evolutionary and atmospheric models and examine empirical trends. Studies…
We investigate the membership in double, triple or higher-order-multiplicity systems of 54 pairs with at least one bright M dwarf in the solar neighbourhood. These M dwarfs are potential targets of radial-velocity surveys for exoplanets. We…
We identify seven new ultracool white dwarfs discovered in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS). The SDSS photometry, spectra, and proper motions are presented, and additional BVRI data are given for these and other previously discovered…
The evolution of white dwarfs is a simple gravothermal process. This means that their luminosity function, i.e. the number of white dwarfs per unit bolometric magnitude and unit volume as a function of bolometric magnitude, is a…
Photometric I band light curves of 21 ultra cool M and L dwarfs are presented. Variability with amplitudes of 0.01 to 0.055 magnitudes (RMS) with typical timescales of an hour to several hours are discovered in half of these objects.…
We explore the potential of \emph{Gaia} for the field of benchmark ultracool/brown dwarf companions, and present the results of an initial search for metal-rich/metal-poor systems. A simulated population of resolved ultracool dwarf…
Due to their small radii, M-dwarfs are very promising targets to search for transiting super-Earths, with a planet of 2 Earth radii orbiting an M5 dwarf in the habitable zone giving rise to a 0.5% photometric signal, with a period of two…
We report here the discovery of the first planet around an ultracool dwarf star. It is also the first extrasolar giant planet (EGP) astrometrically discovered around a main-sequence star. The statistical significance of the detection is…
We present Spitzer 5-15 micron spectroscopy of one cool white dwarf and 3.6-8 micron photometry of 51 cool white dwarfs with T_eff < 6000 K. The majority of our targets have accurate BVRIJHK photometry and trigonometric parallax…
In its all-sky survey, Gaia will monitor astrometrically and photometrically millions of main-sequence stars with sufficient sensitivity to brown dwarf companions within a few AUs from their host stars and to transiting brown dwarfs on very…
Extrasolar planet searches targeting very low-mass stars and brown dwarfs are hampered by intrinsic or instrumental limitations. Time series of astrometric measurements with precisions better than one milli-arcsecond can yield new evidence…
The aim of the project is to improve our knowledge on the low-mass and low-metallicity population to investigate the influence of metallicity of the stellar (and substellar) mass function. We present the results of a photometric and proper…
We have identified eight to ten new cool white dwarfs from the Large Area Survey (LAS) Data Release 9 of the United Kingdom InfraRed Telescope (UKIRT) Infrared Deep Sky Survey (UKIDSS). The data set was paired with the Sloan Digital Sky…
Brown dwarfs bridge the gap between the stellar and planetary mass regimes. Evolving from conditions very similar to the lowest-mass stars, the atmospheres of older brown dwarfs closely resemble those expected in close-in extrasolar giant…
Over a dozen T dwarfs, brown dwarfs that exhibit methane absorption features at 1.6 and 2.2 $\micron$, have been discovered by the 2MASS survey. We discuss how the search for these objects has been made, point out some of the limitations of…
We present photographic B, R and I photometry, and optical and near-infrared spectroscopy, of a new ultracool white dwarf (UCWD) discovered in the SuperCOSMOS Sky Survey. The spectrum of SSSJ1556-0806 shows strong flux suppression due to…
The evolution of white dwarfs is essentially a gravothermal process of cooling in which the basic ingredients for predicting their evolution are well identified, although not always well understood. There are two independent ways to test…
We present the results of a study to discover prospective new white dwarf-L dwarf binaries as identified by their near-infrared excesses in the UKIDSS catalogue. We obtained optical spectra to validate the white dwarf nature for 22 of the…