Calibrating Ultracool Atmospheres with Benchmark Companions from WISE+2MASS

Gomes, Joana I.; Pinfield, David; Day-Jones, Avril; Jones, Hugh; Burningham, Ben; Marocco, Federico; Zhang, Z. H.; van Spaandonk, Lieke
Bibliographical reference

From Interacting Binaries to Exoplanets: Essential Modeling Tools, Proceedings of the International Astronomical Union. Edited by M. T. Richards and I. Hubeny, IAU Symposium, Volume 282, p. 482-483

Advertised on:
4
2012
Number of authors
8
IAC number of authors
0
Citations
1
Refereed citations
1
Description
The complexities of ultracool atmospheres are best confronted by observations of ultracool dwarfs (UCDs) with well known physical properties (luminosity, mass, Teff, log(g), [M/H]), so-called ``benchmark objects.'' We present two discoveries from a new WISE+2MASS search for benchmark wide companions to Hipparcos and Gliese stars. This survey combination provides a powerful tool to confirm new companions using color-magnitude and common proper motion selections, and also yield full NIR-MIR measurements of the ultracool emission. These primary companions are providing important constraints on the age and composition of the benchmark brown dwarf, and the new discoveries add to our growing population of benchmarks that is providing crucial tests of ultracool physics.