Related papers: Binaries and the L Dwarf/T Dwarf Transition

We present multiple-epoch photometric monitoring in the $J$, $H$, and $K_s$ bands of the T1.5 dwarf 2MASS J21392676+0220226 (2M2139), revealing persistent, periodic ($P=7.721\pm$0.005 hr) variability with a peak-to-peak amplitude as high as…

Brown dwarfs are compact objects that do not reach temperatures high enough to produce sustained hydrogen fusion. Consequently, they cool over time, gradually evolving through later spectral types. In fact, three new spectral types (L, T,…

We report on a search for evidence of binarity in Far-Ultraviolet Spectroscopic Explorer (FUSE) observations of DAO white dwarfs. Spectra recorded by FUSE are built up from a number of separate exposures. Observation of changes in the…

We present paper six of the NIRSPEC Brown Dwarf Spectroscopic Survey, an analysis of multi-epoch, high-resolution (R~20,000) spectra of 25 field dwarf systems (3 late-type M dwarfs, 16 L dwarfs, and 6 T dwarfs) taken with the NIRSPEC…

Stellar-substellar binary systems are quite rare, and provide interesting benchmarks. They constrain the complex physics of substellar atmospheres, because several physical parameters of the substellar secondary can be fixed from the much…

Several mechanisms have been proposed for the formation of brown dwarfs, but there is as yet no consensus as to which -- if any -- are operative in nature. Any theory of brown dwarf formation must explain the observed statistics of brown…

I present a simplified analytical model that simulates the evolution of the binary population in a dynamically evolving globular cluster. A number of simulations have been run spanning a wide range in initial cluster and environmental…

We present preliminary trigonometric parallaxes and proper motions for 22 L dwarfs and 18 T dwarfs measured using the ASTROCAM infrared imager. Relative to absolute parallax corrections are made by employing 2MASS and/or SDSS photometry for…

[abbreviated] We report resolved near-infrared spectroscopic monitoring of the nearby L dwarf/T dwarf binary WISE J104915.57-531906.1AB (Luhman 16AB), as part of a broader campaign to characterize the spectral energy distribution and…

We present the completion of a program to cross-correlate the SDSS Data Release 1 and 2MASS Point Source Catalog in search for extremely red L and T dwarfs. The program was initiated by Metchev and collaborators, who presented the findings…

The knowledge of the binary properties of metal-poor and solar-metallicity stars can shed light on the potential differences between the formation processes responsible for both types of objects. The aim of the project is to determine the…

We present a new estimate for the binary fraction (the fraction of stars with a single companion) for M dwarfs using a log-normal fit to the orbital separation distribution. We use point estimates of the binary fraction (binary fractions…

We have used the NICMOS NIC1 camera on the Hubble Space Telescope to obtain high angular resolution images of 51 ultracool dwarfs in the immediate Solar Neighbourhood. Nine systems are resolved as binary, with component separations from 1.5…

We report the discovery of 87 new T dwarfs uncovered with the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) and three brown dwarfs with extremely red near-infrared colors that exhibit characteristics of both L and T dwarfs. Two of the new T…

Observations of variability can provide valuable information about the processes of cloud formation and dissipation in brown dwarf atmospheres. Here we report the results of an independent analysis of archival data from the Brown dwarf…

Massive binary stars undergo qualitatively different evolution when the two components are similar in mass ('twins'), and the abundance of twin binaries is therefore important to understanding a wide range of astrophysical phenomena. We…

The Leo T dwarf galaxy, the faintest and least massive galaxy known to have recent star formation ($\leq 1~Gyr$), exhibits a high dynamical mass-to-light ratio based on its stellar velocity dispersion ($7.07^{+1.29}_{-1.12}~\mathrm{km\…

We present initial results from a wide-field (30,000 deg^2) search for L/T transition brown dwarfs within 25 pc using the Pan-STARRS1 and WISE surveys. Previous large-area searches have been incomplete for L/T transition dwarfs, because…

Luhman and collaborators recently discovered an early-T dwarf companion to the G0 dwarf star HN Peg, using Spitzer Infrared Array Camera (IRAC) images. Companionship was established on the basis of the common proper motion inferred from…

Fully convective M dwarfs typically remain rapidly rotating and magnetically active for billions of years, followed by an abrupt and mass-dependent transition to slow rotation and quiescence. A robust understanding of this process is…