9318970 Saumon Stars with masses below about 0.08 solar masses can not sustain nuclear reactions. The existence of such objects, known as brown dwarfs, could have important consequences in a variety of areas of astrophysics including the missing mass problem and star formation. However, it has not been possible to unambiguously distinguish brown dwarfs from the very numerous M dwarfs which are similar in luminosity and temperature. This is due in large part to deficiencies in the theoretical models which are compared with the observed spectra, colors and luminosities. With the support of this grant, new more realistic model atmospheres and interiors will be constructed for M dwarfs and brown dwarfs. The spectra and colors calculated from these models will allow the identification of brown dwarfs. ***
