The Pan-STARRS Brown Dwarf Factory

Magnier博士（夏威夷大学）和他的团队建议使用Pan-STARRS 1（全景巡天望远镜&快速反应系统——一种新的宽视场巡天仪器，正在夏威夷毛伊岛的Haleakala进行）3-pi巡天数据集，以建立一个非常低质量恒星和棕矮星的普查，这将是前所未有的数量，样板量和完整性。亚恒星天体物理学的几个关键领域将被讨论，包括：(1)用第一个体积有限的棕矮星样本测量附近超冷物体的光度和质量函数；(2)通过密集的彩色星等图对褐矮星大气及其演化的理论模型进行严格检验；(3)在广泛的金属丰度范围内探索超冷大气的物理特性；(4)确定离我们最近的非常冷的褐矮星，它们可能比迄今为止已知的任何物体都要冷；(5)提高附近年轻星团中恒星下矮星的完整性。该项目将发现的低质量恒星和褐矮星样本将使许多其他科学家能够进行广泛的人口研究。在直接的天文学界之外，在太阳附近有类似行星的天体的想法对非专业的观众有直接的吸引力，这样的普查是一个自然的推广工具。该项目还将为从事这项研究的研究生提供直接培训。

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.