• DOI:10.1086/321085
• Corpus ID: 18515414

Brown Dwarf Companions to G-Type Stars. I. Gliese 417B and Gliese 584C

@article{Kirkpatrick2001BrownDC,
  title={Brown Dwarf Companions to G-Type Stars. I. Gliese 417B and Gliese 584C},
  author={J. Davy Kirkpatrick and Conard C. Dahn and David G. Monet and I. Neill Reid and John E. Gizis and James William Liebert and Adam J. Burgasser},
  journal={The Astronomical Journal},
  year={2001},
  volume={121},
  pages={3235 - 3253}
}

• J. Kirkpatrick, C. Dahn, +4 authors A. Burgasser
• Published 14 March 2001
• Physics, Geology
• The Astronomical Journal

We present astrometric and spectroscopic observations confirming that two nearby G dwarf systems (Gliese 417 = BD+36°2162 and Gliese 584AB = η CrB AB) have a widely separated, L dwarf, substellar companion. Using age estimates of the G dwarf primaries, we estimate masses for these L dwarfs from theoretical evolutionary tracks. For the L4.5 dwarf Gl 417B we estimate an age of 0.08–0.3 Gyr and a mass of 0.035 ± 0.015 M⊙. For the L8 dwarf Gl 584C we estimate an age of 1.0–2.5 Gyr and a mass of 0.060 ± 0.015 M⊙. This latter object also shows evidence of spectrum variability, which may be due to surface inhomogeneities rotating into and out of view. These new companions are also compared to six other L dwarf and T dwarf companions previously recognized. For the L dwarf companions, ages implied by the presence or absence of lithium are consistent with ages inferred from the primaries alone.