Related papers: Close binary systems among very low mass stars and…

We have used Monte Carlo simulation techniques and published radial velocity surveys to constrain the frequency of very low-mass star (VLMS) and brown dwarf (BD) binary systems and their separation (a) distribution. Gaussian models for the…

We report on the results of a survey for radial velocity variability in a heterogeneous sample of very low-mass stars and brown dwarfs. One distinguishing characteristic of the survey is its timespan, which allows an overlap between…

Use of the highly sensitive Hokupa'a/Gemini curvature wavefront sensor has allowed direct adaptive optics (AO) guiding on very low mass (VLM) stars with SpT=M8.0-L0.5. A survey of 39 such objects detected 9 VLM binaries. Most of these…

We present results from a high-angular-resolution survey of 78 very low mass (VLM) binary systems with 6.0 <= V-K colour <= 7.5 and proper motion >= 0.15 arcsec/yr. 21 VLM binaries were detected, 13 of them new discoveries. The new binary…

In this paper we review some recent detections of wide binary brown dwarf systems and discuss them in the context of the multiplicity properties of very low-mass stars and brown dwarfs.

We have compiled a sample of 16 orbits for very low-mass stellar (<0.1 Msun) and brown dwarf binaries, enabling the first comprehensive study of the eccentricity distribution for such objects. We find that very low-mass binaries span a…

We surveyed thirteen very low mass (VLM; M < 0.2 M_sun) objects in the Taurus star-forming region using near-infrared diffraction-limited imaging techniques on the W.M. Keck I 10 m telescope. Of these thirteen, five were found to be binary,…

Characterizing multiplicity in the very low mass (VLM) domain is a topic of much current interest and fundamental importance. Here we report on a near-IR AO imaging survey of 31 young brown dwarfs and VLM stars, 28 of which are in…

Searches for companions of brown dwarfs by direct imaging mainly probe orbital separations > 3-10 AU. On the other hand, previous radial velocity surveys of brown dwarfs are mainly sensitive to separations smaller than 0.6 AU. It has been…

The properties of multiple stellar systems have long provided important empirical constraints for star formation theories, enabling (along with several other lines of evidence) a concrete, qualitative picture of the birth and early…

We report the discovery of a very low mass binary system (primary mass <0.1 Msol) with a projected separation of ~5100 AU, more than twice that of the widest previously known system. A spectrum covering the 1-2.5 microns wavelength interval…

We survey a sample of 32 M5-M8 stars with distance < 40pc for companions with separations between 0.1 arcsec and 1.5 arcsec and with Delta m_i <5. We find five new VLM binaries with separations between 0.15 arcsec and 1.1 arcsec, including…

Multiplicity is a key statistic for understanding the formation of very low mass (VLM) stars and brown dwarfs. Currently, the separation distribution of VLM binaries remains poorly constrained at small separations (<1 AU), leading to…

M-dwarfs in extremely wide binary systems are very rare, and may thus have different formation processes from those found as single stars or close binaries in the field. In this paper we search for close companions to a new sample of 36…

Although many models have been proposed, the physical mechanisms responsible for the formation of low-mass brown dwarfs are poorly understood. The multiplicity properties and minimum mass of the brown-dwarf mass function provide critical…

Searches for companions of brown dwarfs by direct imaging probe mainly orbital separations > 3-10 AU. On the other hand, previous radial velocity surveys of brown dwarfs are mainly sensitive to separations smaller than 0.6 AU. It has been…

We report our discovery of a nearby wide binary system, LP 714-37 AB. Phan-Bao et al. identified LP 714-37 as a mid-M dwarf during a cross-identification of the NLTT and DENIS catalogues. Our CCD images resolve the system into a binary with…

We report the statistical properties of stars, brown dwarfs and multiple systems obtained from the largest hydrodynamical simulation of star cluster formation to date that resolves masses down to the opacity limit for fragmentation (a few…

The frequency of multiple systems and their properties are key constraints of stellar formation and evolution. Formation mechanisms of very low-mass (VLM) objects are still under considerable debate and an accurate assessment of their…

We present updated results of a high-resolution, magnitude limited (Ks<12 mag) imaging survey of nearby low-mass M6.0-M7.5 field stars. The observations were carried out using adaptive optics at the Gemini North, VLT, Keck II, and Subaru…