The Gl569 Multiple System

We report the results of high spectral and angular resolution infrared observations of the multiple system Gl569A and B that were intended to measure the dynamical masses of the brown dwarf binary believed to comprise Gl569B. Our analysis did not yield this result but, instead, revealed two surprises. First, at age ~100 Myr, the system is younger than had been reported earlier. Second, our spectroscopic and photometric results provide support for earlier indications that Gl569B is actually a hierarchical brown dwarf triple rather than a binary. Our results suggest that the three components of Gl569B have roughly equal mass, ~0.04 M_solar.