NOAO > Observing Info > Approved Programs > 2009B-0044
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NOAO > Observing Info > Approved Programs > 2009B-0044 |
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PI: Brian D. Mason, US Naval Observatory, bdm@usno.navy.mil
Address: Astrometry, 3450 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20392-5420, USA
CoI: William I. Hartkopf, US Naval Observatory
CoI: Todd J. Henry, Georgia State University
CoI: Jao Wei-Chun, Georgia State University
CoI: John Subasavage, Georgia State University
CoI: Adric Riedel, Georgia State University
CoI: Jennifer Winters, Georgia State University
Title: Nearby Dwarf Stars: Duplicity, Binarity, and Masses
Abstract:
Double stars have proven to be both a blessing and a curse for
astronomers since their discovery over two centuries ago. They remain
the only reliable source of masses, the most fundamental parameter
defining stars. On the other hand, their sobriquet ``vermin of the
sky'' is well-earned, due to the complications they present to both
observers and theoreticians. These range from non-linear proper motions
to stray light in detectors, to confusion in pointing of instruments due
to non-symmetric point spread functions, to angular momentum
conservation in multiple stars which results in binaries closer than
allowed by evolution of two single stars. This proposal is primarily
focused on targets where precise astrophysical information is sorely
lacking: white dwarfs, red dwarfs, and subdwarfs. The proposed work
will refine current statistics regarding duplicity (chance alignments of
nearby point sources) and binarity (actual physical relationships), and
improve the precisions and accuracies of stellar masses. Several
targets support Riedel's and Winters' theses.
National Optical Astronomy Observatory, 950 North Cherry Avenue, P.O. Box 26732, Tucson, Arizona 85726, Phone: (520) 318-8000, Fax: (520) 318-8360
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NOAO > Observing Info > Approved Programs > 2009B-0044 |
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