Ultracool Dwarfs and Their Companions: A Census of Binaries and a Search for Planets

Blake Cullen H, Cambridge MA

Investigators

Abstract

This award is funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-5). Dr. Cullen Blake is awarded an NSF Astronomy and Astrophysics Postdoctoral Fellowship to carry out a program of research and education at Princeton University. Dr. Blake will work to develop new techniques for measuring precise radial velocities (RVs) at wavelengths longer than those previously used for RV measurements. These techniques will enable searches for planets orbiting cool stars and brown dwarfs (Ultracool Dwarfs; UCDs) in the Habitable Zone (HZ), where surface temperatures may be amenable to life, as well as measurements that will help us to better understand the physical properties of UCDs. The PI will conduct a Doppler survey of UCDs in order to better understand the properties of UCD binaries at small orbital separations. The PI will also investigate obtaining precise RV measurements of UCDs using telluric absorption features in Earth's atmosphere as a wavelength reference. Dr. Blake will also work to involve talented high school students in astronomy research by organizing a program called Matching Mentors with Young Scientists (MMYS) to match high school students from regions of the country where there are fewer opportunities for scientific research with a mentor. The PI will involve one high school student as an integral part of the aforementioned UCD research program.