The formation of stars may produce bodies of a wide range of masses, including stellar companions similar to that or slightly more massive than Jupiter to bodies that are roughly 1/3 as massive as the sun. The former kinds of objects are called brown dwarfs and do not possess their own nuclear energy source. The latter kinds of bodies are stars called M-dwarfs and lie at the lower end of the main sequence. The Principal Investigators (PIs) propose to investigate the formation, structure, evolution, and radiative signatures of brown dwarfs and M-dwarfs. In particular, the PIs will construct synthetic spectra in the visible to infrared range, compare the equation of state derived under previous NSF spport with other newer equations of state developed by other researchers, model the formation and evolution of objects of about 1 to 10 Jovian masses, and assess the feasibility of detecting such objects.
