Related papers: Finding benchmark brown dwarfs to probe the IMF as…
The origin of brown dwarfs (BDs) is still an unsolved mystery. While the standard model describes the formation of BDs and stars in a similar way recent data on the multiplicity properties of stars and BDs show them to have different binary…
Chauvin et al. 2005 imaged a co-moving companion at ~260 AU from the young star AB Pic A. Evolutionary models predictions based on J H K photometry of AB Pic b suggested a mass of ~13 - 14 MJup, placing the object at the deuterium-burning…
We present $I$-band time-series photometric variability studies of three known nearby ($\sim$ 140 pc) and young ( $\sim$ 1 Myr) brown dwarfs (BD) in the Taurus star-forming region in the Perseus Molecular Cloud. From 10 nights of…
We suggest that a high proportion of brown dwarfs are formed by gravitational fragmentation of massive extended discs around Sun-like stars. Such discs should arise frequently, but should be observed infrequently, precisely because they…
According to various estimates, brown dwarfs (BD) should account for up to 25 percent of all objects in the Galaxy. However, few of them are discovered and well-studied, both individually and as a population. Homogeneous and complete…
In this paper, we extend the calculations conducted previously in the stellar regime to determine the brown dwarf IMF in the Galactic disk. We perform Monte Carlo calculations taking into account the brown dwarf formation rate, spatial…
The physical properties of faint stellar and substellar objects often rely on indirect, model-dependent estimates. For example, the masses of brown dwarfs are usually inferred using evolutionary models, which are age dependent and have yet…
We present results from the BANYAN All-Sky Survey (BASS), a systematic all-sky survey for brown dwarf candidates in young moving groups. We describe a cross-match of the 2MASS and AllWISE catalogs that provides a list of 98 970 potential…
A common proper motion survey of M dwarf stars within 8 pc of the Sun reveals no new stellar or brown dwarf companions at wide separations (~100-1400 AU). This survey tests whether the brown dwarf ``desert'' extends to large separations…
Brown dwarf companions to white dwarfs are rare, but recent infra-red surveys are slowly reveal- ing examples. We present new observations of the post-common envelope binary WD0137-349, which reveals the effects of irradiation on the ~…
We have been using Keck laser guide star adaptive optics to monitor the orbits of ultracool binaries, providing dynamical masses at lower luminosities and temperatures than previously available and enabling strong tests of theoretical…
In 2005, Palla & Baraffe proposed that brown dwarfs (BDs) and very low mass stars (VLMSs; <0.1 solar masses) may be unstable to radial oscillations during the pre-main-sequence deuterium burning phase. With associated periods of 1-4 hours,…
Using SofI on the 3.5m New Technology Telescope, we have conducted an extensive near-infrared monitoring survey of an unbiased sample of 69 brown dwarfs spanning the L0 and T8 spectral range, with at least one example of each spectral type.…
Irradiated brown dwarfs (BDs) provide natural laboratories to test our understanding of substellar and irradiated atmospheres. A handful of short-period BDs around white dwarfs (WDs) have been observed, but the uniquely intense UV-dominated…
Brown dwarfs (BD) are model degenerate in age and mass. High-contrast imaging and spectroscopy of BD companions to host stars where the mass and age can be independently constrained by dynamics and stellar age indicators respectively…
The number of low-mass brown dwarfs and even free floating planetary mass objects in young nearby star-forming regions and associations is continuously increasing, offering the possibility to study the low-mass end of the IMF in greater…
Dynamical masses of giant planets and brown dwarfs are critical tools for empirically validating substellar evolutionary models and their underlying assumptions. We present a measurement of the dynamical mass and an updated orbit of PZ Tel…
Most brown dwarfs show some level of photometric or spectral variability. However, finding the most variable dwarfs more suited for a thorough variability monitoring campaign remained a challenge until a few years ago with the design of…
We present a comprehensive Bayesian statistical analysis of brown dwarf companions to investigate the physical mechanisms responsible for the observed ``brown dwarf desert'' -- the notable paucity of brown dwarf companions at orbital…
In near-infrared NaCo observations of the young brown dwarf 2MASS J0041353-562112, we discovered a companion a little less than a magnitude fainter than the primary. The binary candidate has a separation of 143 mas, the spectral types are…