The smallest stars and their companions
Stars that are half the mass of our Sun and smaller are the most common type of star in our galaxy and have lifetimes longer than the age of the Universe. These small stars also host more planets than stars like our own Sun. Characterizing these planets and their atmospheres typically requires that we understand fundamental properties (e.g. age, luminosity, magnetism) of these stars to a high precision.
How Wide is Wide?
M Dwarf with white dwarf companions are enticing laboratories for determining ages of M dwarfs, a historically very difficult task. To understand the scenarios in which the white dwarf can be used to age-date the M dwarf, we need to better quantify the interaction history between the two stars. I am working to quantify how the white dwarf companion affects the M dwarfs magnetic signatures, rotation, and chemical composition.
Extending Gaia’s Reach
Astrometry from ESA’s Gaia mission is revolutionizing our understanding of stars and stellar populations in our Galaxy. Owing to Gaia’s relatively blue bandpass and the intrinsic faintness and redness of the very smallest stars, there is still work to be done determining precise distances for L dwarfs. I am doing ground-based astrometry of L dwarfs using the Discovery Channel Telescope in Happy Jack, AZ.
Activity and Planets at the bottom of the main Sequence
The discovery that planets are ubiquitous around early-type M dwarfs leads us to wonder if this trend continues all the way to the bottom of the Main Sequence and beyond. I am mentoring BU undergraduate in a search for planets around ultracool dwarfs observed by the Kepler spacecraft as a part of its secondary mission, K2. We are working to better constrain the planet occurrence rate around ultracool dwarfs. The K2 light curves also give us an unprecedented sample to to study the largest flares and rotation in ultracool dwarfs.
