Related papers: Identification of partially resolved binaries in P…
This paper revisits a sample of ultracool dwarfs in the Solar neighborhood previously observed with the Hubble Space Telescope's NICMOS NIC1 instrument. We have applied a novel high angular resolution data analysis technique based on the…
Measuring a weak gravitational lensing signal to the level required by the next generation of space-based surveys demands exquisite reconstruction of the point-spread function (PSF). However, unresolved binary stars can significantly…
Astrometric observations of resolved binaries provide estimates of orbital periods and will eventually lead to measurement of dynamical masses. Only a few very low mass star and brown dwarf masses have been measured to date, and the…
Using the low-resolution mode of the Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph (STIS) aboard the \emph{Hubble Space Telescope} (HST), we have obtained spatially resolved spectra of 20 ultracool dwarfs. 18 of them belong to 9 known very low-mass…
We developed two different point spread function (PSF) analysis techniques for discovering wide separation binary asteroids in wide field surveys. We then applied these techniques to images of main belt asteroids in the 4 to 60 km size…
The direct detection of binary systems in wide-field surveys is limited by the size of the stars' point-spread-functions (PSFs). A search for elongated objects can find closer companions, but is limited by the precision to which the PSF…
We report the discovery of twenty-one hitherto unknown bright southern ultracool dwarfs with spectral types in the range M7 to L5.5, together with new observations of a further three late M dwarfs previously confirmed. Three more objects…
We present preliminary results of a radial-velocity search for companions to a volume limited sample of M dwarfs. Typical accuracy range between 10m/s for the brighter stars and 70m/s at our limiting magnitude. We complement the radial…
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…
Wide binaries play a crucial role in analyzing the birth environment of stars and the dynamical evolution of clusters. When wide binaries are located at greater distances, their companions may overlap in the observed images, becoming…
We present the discovery of 61 wide (>5 arcsecond) separation, low-mass (stellar and substellar) companions to stars in the solar neighborhood identified from Pan-STARRS\,1 (PS1) data and the spectral classification of 27 previously known…
A combination of high-resolution and wide-field imaging reveals two binary stars and one triple star system among the sample of the first 11 stars with planets detected by radial velocity variations. High resolution speckle or adaptive…
We present the observational results of a near-infrared survey of a large sample of Class I protostars designed to determine the Class I binary separation distribution from ~100 AU to ~5000 AU. We have selected targets from a new sample of…
The masses of compact objects like white dwarfs, neutron stars and black holes are fundamental to astrophysics, but very difficult to measure. We present the results of an analysis of subluminous B (sdB) stars in close binary systems with…
We report the results of an infrared Doppler survey designed to detect brown dwarf and giant planetary companions to a magnitude-limited sample of ultracool dwarfs. Using the NIRSPEC spectrograph on the Keck II telescope, we obtained…
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…
I have undertaken a comprehensive statistical investigation of the ultracool dwarf companion distribution (spectral type M6 and later). Utilizing a Bayesian algorithm, I tested models of the companion distribution against data from an…
The masses of compact objects like white dwarfs, neutron stars and black holes are fundamental to astrophysics, but very difficult to measure. We present the results of an analysis of subluminous B (sdB) stars in close binary systems with…
In this paper we present a spectroscopic study of six double-lined binaries, five of which were recently discovered in a high-resolution spectroscopic survey of optical counterparts of stellar X-ray sources. Thanks to high-resolution…
Young, intermediate-mass stars are experiencing renewed interest as targets for direct-imaging planet searches. However, these types of stars are part of multiple systems more often than not. Close stellar companions affect the formation…