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Sergio Dieterich |
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"Understanding the Stellar
/ Brown Dwarf Transition Region: An Overview of Observational
Efforts Aimed at Distinguishing Stars from Brown Dwarfs" |
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Where is the end of the stellar main sequence? In other words, how does an observational astronomer distinguish the highest mass brown dwarfs from the lowest mass stars? Although the theory regarding these very low mass objects has become quite sophisticated, connecting the interior physics to photospheric observables remains a significant challenge. In this talk I will outline our current understanding of this region of the HR diagram, and describe how I am employing telescopes at Tololo, Pachon, and Mauna Kea to comprehensively map the stellar / brown dwarf transition region through astrometry, photometry, and spectroscopy. I will also propose a few new observational tests for "stardom", and discuss preliminary results. |