The Hinterland: Compilation of Nearby Brown Dwarfs and Ultracool stars

Author

Christopher David Ramos

Issuing Body

Mississippi State University

Advisor

Tanner, Angelle M.

Committee Member

Monts, David L.

Committee Member

Ma, Wenchao

Date of Degree

12-15-2012

Document Type

Graduate Thesis - Open Access

Major

Physics

Degree Name

Master of Science

College

College of Arts and Sciences

Department

Department of Physics and Astronomy

Abstract

This work is a compilation and analysis of ultracool dwarfs (UCDs) and brown dwarfs within 25 parsecs. It supplements the work of Stauffer et al. [2010] who updated the reputable and widely relied upon Third Catalog of Nearby Stars [Gliese & Jahreiß 1991] with revised coordinates and cross-matched each object with the 2MASS point source catalog [Cutri et al. 2003]. I began by incorporating newly discovered (post 1991) cool companions to Gliese-Jahreiß stars that had been previously undetectable. I then expanded the compilation to include isolated UCDs and other nearby systems with at least one UCD component. Multiple systems are a panacea for astrophysical problems: by applying Kepler’s laws, the model-independent mass of brown dwarfs and low mass stars can be determined and hence serve to constrain theory. This work puts this data into context by exploring the history of brown dwarf theory and reviewing open questions concerning their nature.

URI

https://hdl.handle.net/11668/19077

Comments

low-mass||brown dwarfs||binaries||stars||thesis

Recommended Citation

Ramos, Christopher David, "The Hinterland: Compilation of Nearby Brown Dwarfs and Ultracool stars" (2012). Theses and Dissertations. 4481.
https://scholarsjunction.msstate.edu/td/4481