Related papers: Brown Dwarfs: Toward a New Age Scale for Young Ope…
The detection of brown dwarfs in globular star clusters will allow us to break the degeneracies in age, mass and composition that affect our current models, and therefore to constrain the physics of their atmospheres and interiors.…
We report the discovery of a population of late-M and L field dwarfs with unusual optical and near-infrared spectral features that we attribute to low gravity -- likely uncommonly young, low-mass brown dwarfs. Many of these new-found young…
We have identified a large sample of probable low mass members of the young open cluster IC2391 based on optical (VRIZ) and Infrared (JHK$_s$) photometry. Our sample includes 50 probable members and 82 possible members, both very low mass…
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,…
We present a photometric and spectroscopic study of the young open cluster M35, including very deep and accurate photometry of the stellar (including white dwarfs) and substellar population of the cluster, a complete mass function,…
We present a CCD-based photometric survey covering 870 sq. arcmin in a young stellar cluster around the young multiple star sigma Orionis. Our survey limiting R, I, and Z magnitudes are 23.2, 21.8, and 21.0, respectively. From our…
I review here the results of the first RV survey for spectroscopic companions to very young brown dwarfs (BDs) and (very) low-mass stars in the ChaI star-forming cloud with UVES at the VLT. This survey studies the binary fraction in an as…
We describe the results of a very deep imaging survey of the Trapezium Cluster in the IJH bands, using the UKIRT high resolution camera UFTI. Approximately 32% of the 515 point sources detected are brown dwarf candidates, including several…
We present an analysis of high quality spectra of members of the young cluster M35. By using a multi-fiber spectrograph, we are able to collect high signal-to-noise, high resolution spectra of a sample of photometric candidate members.…
In order to understand the atmospheres as well as the formation mechanism of giant planets formed outside our solar system, the next decade will require an investment in studies of isolated young brown dwarfs. In this white paper we…
We mainly aim to search for the lithium depletion boundary (LDB) among the sub-stellar population of the open star cluster Coma Berenices. We carried out a search for brown dwarf (BD) candidates using colour-magnitude diagrams combining…
Variability studies are an important tool to investigate key properties of stars and brown dwarfs. From photometric monitoring we are able to obtain information about rotation and magnetic activity, which are expected to change in the mass…
Our aim is to identify substellar members of the nearby Hyades open star cluster to determine the photometric and spectroscopic properties of brown dwarfs at moderately old ages and extend our knowledge of the substellar mass function of…
Late M-type dwarfs in the solar neighborhood include a mixture of very low-mass stars and brown dwarfs which is difficult to disentangle due to the lack of constraints on their age such as trigonometric parallax, lithium detection and space…
Open clusters, which have age, abundance, and extinction information from studies of main-sequence turn off stars, are the ideal location in which to determine the mass-luminosity-radius relation for low-mass stars. We have undertaken a…
We provide a review of the current status of several topics on the ages, distances, and mass functions of open clusters, with a particular emphasis on illuminating the areas of uncertainty. Hipparcos has obtained parallaxes for nearby open…
We have identified twenty-seven candidate very low mass members of the relatively young Alpha Persei open cluster from a six square degree CCD imaging survey. Based on their I magnitudes and the nominal age and distance to the cluster,…
By collecting optical and infrared photometry, as well as medium resolution spectroscopy, we have discovered a sample of low mass stars and brwon dwarfs in the young cluster IC2391. Using the lithium depletion boundary near the substellar…
Pulsation powered by deuterium burning in brown dwarfs and very low mass stars has been put forth (Palla & Baraffe 2005) as a novel probe of the interiors of these objects in the 1-15 Myr age range. Previous observations have hinted at…
We present the results of a photometric and astrometric study of the low mass stellar and substellar population of the young open cluster Blanco 1. We have exploited J band data, obtained recently with the Wide Field Camera (WFCAM) on the…