Bibcode
Basri, G.; Martin, E.; Ruiz, M. T.; Delfosse, X.; Forveille, T.; Epchtein, N.; Allard, F.; Leggett, S. K.
Bibliographical reference
ASP Conf. Ser. 154, The Tenth Cambridge Workshop on Cool Stars, Stellar Systems and the Sun, Edited by R. A. Donahue and J. A. Bookbinder, p.1819
Advertised on:
0
1998
Citations
7
Refereed citations
6
Description
The empirical study of confirmed brown dwarfs began in 1995. Until this
year, however, no ironclad examples of free-floating field brown dwarfs
have been confirmed. Recently three excellent candidates have been
discovered --- bright enough to obtain high resolution spectra with the
Keck 10-m telescope. Two of our targets clearly show the lithium
resonance line which, given their temperatures, ensures that they are
true brown dwarfs. We discuss several line profiles from these exciting
new objects. We provide constraints on their mass and age based on
simple arguments involving their lithium content and temperatures.