Probing Ultracool Atmospheres and Substellar Interiors with Dynamical Masses

Details Probing Ultracool Atmospheres and Substellar Interiors with Dynamical Masses Probing Ultracool Atmospheres and Substellar Interiors with Dynamical Masses

Jul 2009

adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2009hst..prop12255d&link_type=abstract

HST Proposal ID #12255. Cycle 18

Computer Science

Scientific paper

After years of patient orbital monitoring, there is now a large sample of very low-mass stars and brown dwarfs with precise { 5%} dynamical masses. These binaries represent the gold standard for testing substellar theoretical models. Work to date has identified problems with the model-predicted broad-band colors, effective temperatures, and possibly even luminosity evolution with age. However, our ability to test models is currently limited by how well the individual components of these highly prized binaries are characterized. To solve this problem, we propose to use NICMOS and STIS to characterize this first large sample of ultracool binaries with well-determined dynamical masses. We will use NICMOS multi-band photometry to measure the SEDs of the binary components and thereby precisely estimate their spectral types and effective temperatures. We will use STIS to obtain resolved spectroscopy of the Li I doublet at 6708 A for a subset of three binaries whose masses lie very near the theoretical mass limit for lithium burning. The STIS data will provide the first ever resolved lithium measurements for brown dwarfs of known mass, enabling a direct probe of substellar interiors. Our proposed HST observations to characterize the components of these binaries is much less daunting in comparison to the years of orbital monitoring needed to yield dynamical masses, but these HST data are equally vital for robust tests of theory.;

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