Program: GS-2008B-C-1
| Title: | The Mass Ratio of the White Dwarf - Brown Dwarf Binary GD 1400 |
| PI: | Jay Farihi |
| Co-I(s): | Robert Blum, Matt Burleigh, Emily Rice, Ralf Napiwotzki, Tom Marsh |
Abstract
We propose to measure and monitor the radial velocity of the L-type brown dwarf companion to the white dwarf GD 1400 with PHOENIX. The radial velocity period and amplitude of the white dwarf primary have recently been determined, and the proposed observations would discern the mass ratio of this unique spectroscopic binary. Never before has the mass of an older brown dwarf with a well-constrained age been established, and empirical data are absent from substellar cooling models.