SIMBAD references

The most common stars in the Galaxy are the main-sequence M dwarfs, yet current techniques are not optimized for detecting companions around the lowest mass M dwarfs, those with spectral designations ranging from M6 to M10. Described in this paper is a search for companions around such stars using a newly designed differential spectrophotometric technique. This novel method combines the strengths of the photometric and spectroscopic techniques, while it minimizes their inherent limitations. The scientific goal of this project is to search for short-period systems containing brown dwarfs and giant planets. The detection of or placing limits on such systems will help discriminate among competing theories of planetary formation.