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Paper: The First Line Profiles from Cool Field Brown Dwarfs
Volume: 154, Cool Stars, Stellar Systems and the Sun: Tenth Cambridge Workshop
Page: 1819
Authors: Basri, G.; Martin, E.; Ruiz, M. T.; Delfosse, X.; Forveille, T.; Epchtein, N.; Allard, F.; Leggett, S. K.
Abstract: 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.
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