What is the purpose of this archive?
There are two main databases in this archive. The first database is a compilation of all known, spectroscopically determined L and T dwarfs. In that database we have positions, near-IR colors (primarily from 2MASS), spectral types, finder charts, parallaxes and proper motions (if available), and notes about binarity. The second database is a collection of various M dwarfs for which we have good optical spectra. This database is in no way meant to be a complete compilation of M dwarfs; it is just a large sample of stars that could be used as spectral standards.
You say that you have spectra, but I don't see where I can get them. Where are they?
At this time we do not have the spectra available on-line. We are working on establishing a standard header for our spectral files. With over 1000 objects in both databases, this will take some time! If you want the spectrum of a particular M dwarf, please send in a request to our Helpdesk. We will do our best to get you the spectrum.
Do I really need to submit a ticket to your Helpdesk to ask you something or let you know something is wrong in your archive? How do I even know the request will get to you?
The three of us are the only ones who will read the requests that come to the Helpdesk. Yes, many of you know us and could just as easily send us an email with the problem, but the Helpdesk is our way of tracking the problems and making sure they are corrected. Does this mean that we will ignore your emails about the archive? Not on purpose.
What sort of quality control do you use before putting an object in the archive?
We look at the spectra for each of the objects to make sure it really is an L or T dwarf. Very rarely do we disagree with the authors.
I noticed that your binary measurements in the "notes" column don't always reference the discovery paper. Why is that?
Since many of the users of this archive are observers, we made the decision to quote the last measured position for each of the binaries. We thought that this information would be more useful than the orientation when the binary was discovered.
How do I know if the photometry reported is from 2MASS or some other source?
Admittedly, this information is poorly shown and we are working on fixing that. At the moment, if the 2MASS Designation starts with '-----', then the object is clearly not in any 2MASS catalog and the photometry is from another source (usually the discovery paper).
Are there any plans to put in photometry from other sources in addition to the 2MASS photometry?
Yes. This is part of the plan to identify non-2MASS photometry. Like most things, it might take some time to get the information compiled and entered in the database.
I like the other (PDF) finder charts that you guys had. Why did you switch?
Time. Making those finder charts takes quite a bit of time. IRSA had the finder chart service, so we just decided to go with that.
Is DwarfArchives.org an IPAC/IRSA service?
No. While the server does have an IPAC IP address, it is not housed on an IPAC (or government owned for that matter) machine. It has an IPAC address simply because it is physically located in an IPAC office. We do make use of some IRSA services (FinderChart, LookUp, and the Helpdesk), but get only minimal support for their use. Two of us (CRG and JDK) happen to work at IPAC, but the effort we put forth for the archive comes from our personal science time and not our service time.
