The Pan-STARRS Brown Dwarf Factory

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Dr. Magnier (University of Hawaii) and his team propose to use the Pan-STARRS 1 (Panoramic Survey Telescope & Rapid Response System - a new wide-field survey instrument being commissioned on Haleakala, Maui, Hawaii) 3-pi Survey dataset to construct a census of very low-mass stars and brown dwarfs that will be unprecedented in its volume, sample size, and completeness. Several key areas in substellar astrophysics will be addressed, including: (1) measuring the luminosity and mass function of nearby ultracool objects with the first volume-limited sample of brown dwarfs; (2) rigorous testing of theoretical models of brown dwarf atmospheres and evolution through densely populated color-magnitude diagrams; (3) exploring the physics of ultracool atmospheres over a wide range of metallicities; (4) identifying the nearest very cool brown dwarfs, perhaps cooler than any object known to date; and (5) improving the completeness of substellar dwarfs in nearby young clusters.The low-mass star and brown dwarf samples that will be found by this project will enable many other scientists to perform a wide range of population studies. Beyond the immediate astronomy community, the idea of nearby, planet-like objects in the solar neighborhood has a direct appeal to the lay audience, and such a census makes a natural outreach tool. The project will also afford the direct training of the graduate student working on the study.