Measuring the ages of low-mass stars and brown dwarfs
Abstract
Age is among the most elusive, yet important, fundamental properties of low-mass stars and brown dwarfs. M dwarfs have main-sequence lifetimes that are estimated to be trillions of years, with little change in luminosity. In contrast, brown dwarfs cool and dim with time, resulting in a significant degeneracy between mass, age, and luminosity. Despite these inherent challenges, there have been recent efforts on both observational and theoretical fronts that may yield precise ages for low-mass stars and brown dwarfs. We feature some current observational efforts focused on estimating ages of these objects as presented in our Cool Stars 17 splinter session.
- Publication:
-
Astronomische Nachrichten
- Pub Date:
- February 2013
- DOI:
- 10.1002/asna.201211749
- Bibcode:
- 2013AN....334...44B
- Keywords:
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- stars: activity;
- stars: fundamental parameters;
- stars: late-type;
- stars: low-mass;
- brown dwarfs;
- white dwarfs