J. Davy Kirkpatrick

Kirkpatrick received a BS in mathematics and physics/astronomy from Vanderbilt University in 1986 and a PhD in astronomy from the University of Arizona in 1992. He was a W. J. McDonald Fellow at the University of Texas at Austin from 1992-1994, a National Research Council Fellow at JPL from 1994-1996, and a NICMOS Fellow at UCLA from 1996-1997{{Cite web|title=Former UCLA Postdocs {{!}} UCLA Division of Astronomy & Astrophysics|url=http://www.astro.ucla.edu/postdoc-alumni?order=field_year_end&sort=asc|access-date=2020-10-09|website=www.astro.ucla.edu}} before being hired at Caltech, where he works today.{{Cite web|title=Science Staff|url=https://www.ipac.caltech.edu/science/staff/j-davy-kirkpatrick|access-date=2020-10-09|website=IPAC}}{{Verify source|date=February 2012}}

Much of Kirkpatrick's research has concentrated on the discovery and characterization of the lowest mass stars and brown dwarfs. After refining the far optical and near-infrared classifications{{cite journal |title=A standard stellar spectral sequence in the red/near-infrared — Classes K5 to M9 |bibcode=1991ApJS...77..417K |last1=Kirkpatrick |first1=J. Davy |last2=Henry |first2=Todd J. |last3=McCarthy |first3=Donald W. |journal=The Astrophysical Journal Supplement Series |year=1991 |volume=77 |page=417 |doi=10.1086/191611 |doi-access=free }} of M dwarfs in the early 1990s and publishing the first spectrum of the brown dwarf candidate GD 165B, which would later be referred to as the first L dwarf discovery, Kirkpatrick joined the Two Micron All-Sky Survey{{cite journal |doi=10.1086/498708 |last1=Skrutskie |first1=Michael F. |last2=Cutri |first2=Roc M. |last3=Stiening |first3=Rae |last4=Weinberg |first4=Martin D. |last5=Schneider |first5=Stephen E. |last6=Carpenter |first6=John M. |last7=Beichman |first7=Charles A. |last8=Capps |first8=Richard W. |last9=Chester |first9=Thomas |last10=Elias |first10=Jonathan H. |last11=Huchra |first11=John P. |last12=Liebert |first12=James W. |last13=Lonsdale |first13=Carol J. |last14=Monet |first14=David G. |last15=Price |first15=Stephan |last16=Seitzer |first16=Patrick |last17=Jarrett |first17=Thomas H. |last18=Kirkpatrick |first18=J. Davy |last19=Gizis |first19=John E. |last20=Howard |first20=Elizabeth V. |last21=Evans |first21=Tracey E. |last22=Fowler |first22=John W. |last23=Fullmer |first23=Linda |last24=Hurt |first24=Robert L. |last25=Light |first25=Robert M. |last26=Kopan |first26=Eugene L. |last27=Marsh |first27=Kenneth A. |last28=McCallon |first28=Howard L. |last29=Tam |first29=Robert |last30=Van Dyk |first30=Schuyler D. |last31=Wheelock |first31=Sherry L. |title=The Two Micron All Sky Survey (2MASS) |journal=The Astronomical Journal |date=1 February 2006 |volume=131 |issue=2 |pages=1163–1183 |bibcode=2006AJ....131.1163S |s2cid=18913331 |issn=0004-6256 |doi-access=free }} (2MASS) team to search for even colder objects. Along with Neill Reid, he uncovered many objects similar to and colder than GD 165B, leading to the definition of the L dwarf{{cite journal |title=Dwarfs Cooler than "M": The Definition of Spectral Type "L" Using Discoveries from the 2 Micron All-Sky Survey (2MASS) |bibcode=1999ApJ...519..802K |last1=Kirkpatrick |first1=J. Davy |last2=Reid |first2=I. Neill |last3=Liebert |first3=James |last4=Cutri |first4=Roc M. |last5=Nelson |first5=Brant |last6=Beichman |first6=Charles A. |last7=Dahn |first7=Conard C. |last8=Monet |first8=David G. |last9=Gizis |first9=John E. |last10=Skrutskie |first10=Michael F. |journal=The Astrophysical Journal |year=1999 |volume=519 |issue=2 |page=802 |doi=10.1086/307414 |doi-access=free }} spectral class. Also using 2MASS data, he and graduate student Adam Burgasser discovered brown dwarfs even colder than spectral class L, leading to the establishment of the T dwarf{{cite journal |last1=Burgasser |first1=Adam J. |last2=Kirkpatrick |first2=J. Davy |author-link2=J. Davy Kirkpatrick |last3=Brown |first3=Michael E. |author-link3=Michael E. Brown |last4=Reid |first4=I. Neill |last5=Burrows |first5=Adam |last6=Liebert |first6=James |last7=Matthews |first7=Keith |last8=Gizis |first8=John E. |last9=Dahn |first9=Conard C. |last10=Monet |first10=David G. |last11=Cutri |first11=Roc M. |last12=Skrutskie |first12=Michael F. |title=The Spectra of T Dwarfs. I. Near-Infrared Data and Spectral Classification |year=2002 |journal=The Astrophysical Journal |volume=564 |issue=1 |pages=421–451 |arxiv=astro-ph/0108452 |doi=10.1086/324033 |bibcode=2002ApJ...564..421B |s2cid=9273465 }}{{cite journal |title=A Unified Near-Infrared Spectral Classification Scheme for T Dwarfs |url=https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2006ApJ...637.1067B |bibcode=2006ApJ...637.1067B |last1=Burgasser |first1=Adam J. |last2=Geballe |first2=Thomas R.|last3=Leggett |first3=Sandy K. |last4=Kirkpatrick |first4=J. Davy |last5=Golimowski |first5=David A. |journal=The Astrophysical Journal |year=2006 |volume=637 |issue=2 |pages=1067–1093 |doi=10.1086/498563 |arxiv=astro-ph/0510090 |s2cid=8823326 }} spectral class. More recently, as a member of the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE){{cite journal |title=The Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE): Mission Description and Initial On-orbit Performance |url=https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2010AJ....140.1868W |bibcode=2010AJ....140.1868W |last1=Wright |first1=Edward L. |last2=Eisenhardt |first2=Peter R. M. |last3=Mainzer |first3=Amy K. |last4=Ressler |first4=Michael E. |last5=Cutri |first5=Roc M. |last6=Jarrett |first6=Thomas |last7=Kirkpatrick |first7=J. Davy |last8=Padgett |first8=Deborah |last9=McMillan |first9=Robert S. |last10=Skrutskie |first10=Michael F. |last11=Stanford |first11=Spencer Adam |last12=Cohen |first12=Martin |last13=Walker |first13=Russell G. |last14=Mather |first14=John C. |last15=Leisawitz |first15=David |last16=Gautier |first16=Thomas N. |last17=McLean |first17=Ian |last18=Benford |first18=Dominic |last19=Lonsdale |first19=Carol J. |last20=Blain |first20=Andrew |last21=Mendez |first21=Bryan |last22=Irace |first22=William R. |last23=Duval |first23=Valerie |last24=Liu |first24=Fengchuan |last25=Royer |first25=Don |last26=Heinrichsen |first26=Ingolf |last27=Howard |first27=Joan |last28=Shannon |first28=Mark |last29=Kendall |first29=Martha |last30=Walsh |first30=Amy L.|author3-link=Amy Mainzer |journal=The Astronomical Journal |year=2010 |volume=140 |issue=6 |page=1868 |doi=10.1088/0004-6256/140/6/1868 |arxiv=1008.0031 |s2cid=37094119 |display-authors=29 }} team, Kirkpatrick and his research group have uncovered even colder brown dwarfs,{{cite journal |doi=10.1088/0067-0049/197/2/19 |display-authors=6 |authorlink=J. Davy Kirkpatrick |last1=Kirkpatrick |first1=J. Davy |last2=Cushing |first2=Michael C. |last3=Gelino |first3=Christopher R. |last4=Griffith |first4=Roger L. |last5=Skrutskie |first5=Michael F. |last6=Marsh |first6=Kenneth A. |last7=Wright |first7=Edward L. |last8=Mainzer |first8=Amy K. |last9=Eisenhardt |first9=Peter R. |last10=McLean |first10=Ian S. |last11=Thompson |first11=Maggie A. |last12=Bauer |first12=James M. |last13=Benford |first13=Dominic J. |last14=Bridge |first14=Carrie R. |last15=Lake |first15=Sean E. |last16=Petty |first16=Sara M. |last17=Stanford |first17=Spencer Adam |last18=Tsai |first18=Chao-Wei |last19=Bailey |first19=Vanessa |last20=Beichman |first20=Charles A. |last21=Bloom |first21=Joshua S. |last22=Bochanski |first22=John J. |last23=Burgasser |first23=Adam J. |last24=Capak |first24=Peter L. |last25=Cruz |first25=Kelle L. |last26=Hinz |first26=Philip M. |last27=Kartaltepe |first27=Jeyhan S. |last28=Knox |first28=Russell P. |last29=Manohar |first29=Swarnima |last30=Masters |first30=Daniel |last31=Morales-Calderon |first31=Maria |last32=Prato |first32=Lisa A. |last33=Rodigas |first33=Timothy J. |last34=Salvato |first34=Mara |last35=Schurr |first35=Steven D. |last36=Scoville |first36=Nicholas Z. |last37=Simcoe |first37=Robert A. |last38=Stapelfeldt |first38=Karl R. |last39=Stern |first39=Daniel |last40=Stock |first40=Nathan D. |last41=Vacca |first41=William D.|author8-link=Amy Mainzer |title=The First Hundred Brown Dwarfs Discovered by the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) |date=2011 |journal=The Astrophysical Journal Supplement |volume=197 |issue=2 |pages=19 |arxiv=1108.4677 |bibcode=2011ApJS..197...19K |s2cid=16850733 |url=https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2011ApJS..197...19K}} leading to the establishment, with postdoc Michael Cushing, of the Y dwarf{{cite journal |title=The Discovery of Y Dwarfs using Data from the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) |url=https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2011ApJ...743...50C |bibcode=2011ApJ...743...50C |last1=Cushing |first1=Michael C. |last2=Kirkpatrick |first2=J. Davy |last3=Gelino |first3=Christopher R. |last4=Griffith |first4=Roger L. |last5=Skrutskie |first5=Michael F. |last6=Mainzer |first6=A. |last7=Marsh |first7=Kenneth A. |last8=Beichman |first8=Charles A. |last9=Burgasser |first9=Adam J. |last10=Prato |first10=Lisa A. |last11=Simcoe |first11=Robert A. |last12=Marley |first12=Mark S. |last13=Saumon |first13=Didier |last14=Freedman |first14=Richard S. |last15=Eisenhardt |first15=Peter R. |last16=Wright |first16=Edward L.|author6-link=Amy Mainzer |journal=The Astrophysical Journal |year=2011 |volume=743 |issue=1 |page=50 |doi=10.1088/0004-637X/743/1/50 |arxiv=1108.4678 |s2cid=286881 }} spectral class.

Along with Adam Burgasser and Chris Gelino, Kirkpatrick maintains a listing of all known L, T, and Y dwarf discoveries at the DwarfArchives{{cite web|title=DwarfArchives.org|url=http://DwarfArchives.org}} website.

Kirkpatrick is credited with first using the name "Tyche" to refer to a heretofore unseen, low-mass Solar companion in the Oort Cloud. He chose this term to be in direct contrast{{cite magazine|title=Mystery Planet: Is a Rogue Giant Orbiting Our Sun?|url=http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,2049641,00.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110217111623/http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,2049641,00.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=February 17, 2011 | magazine=Time | date=16 February 2011}} to "Nemesis", an unseen Solar companion hypothesized to lie in a highly elliptical orbit and to be responsible for periodic mass extinctions on the Earth. Kirkpatrick's own search using the 2MASS data set rules out any Solar companion more massive than 30 Jupiter masses,{{cite web |title=Dark Threat, Astronomy Magazine, July 2005, p. 40 |url=http://www.astronomy.com/sitecore/content/Magazine%20Issues/2005/July%202005.aspx }} although analysis of the WISE data set should set much more stringent limits.{{cite web |title=Can WISE Find the Hypothetical "Tyche"? |url=http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/WISE/news/wise20110218.html |access-date=2012-02-06 |archive-date=2011-02-21 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110221033243/http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/WISE/news/wise20110218.html |url-status=dead }}

• "New Spectral Types L and T" from Annual Review of Astronomy and Astrophysics, 2005{{cite journal |title=New Spectral Types L and T |bibcode=2005ARA&A..43..195K |last1=Kirkpatrick |first1=J. Davy |volume=43 |year=2005 |pages=195–245 |journal=Annual Review of Astronomy & Astrophysics |issue=1 |doi=10.1146/annurev.astro.42.053102.134017 |url=https://resolver.caltech.edu/CaltechAUTHORS:KIRaraa05 }}
• "M Dwarfs and L Dwarfs", Chapter 9 of Stellar Spectral ClassificationGray, Richard O.; and Corbally, Christopher J.; [http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2009ssc..book.....G Stellar Spectral Classification], Princeton University Press, 2009, {{ISBN|978-0-691-12511-4}}

• 2011 Wendell G. Holladay Lectureship {{cite web |title=Vanderbilt Physics and Astronomy Colloquium, 2011-2012 |url=http://www.vanderbilt.edu/physics/events/colloquiumf11.php |access-date=2012-02-06 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120703233433/http://www.vanderbilt.edu/physics/events/colloquiumf11.php |archive-date=2012-07-03 |url-status=dead }}
• 2010 Marc Aaronson Memorial Lectureship{{cite web |title=The Secret Lives of Brown Dwarfs: Hidden Oddballs of the Universe |url=http://uanews.org/node/31158 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100619232023/http://uanews.org/node/31158 |url-status=usurped |archive-date=June 19, 2010 }}
• 2003 Watkins Visiting Professorship,{{cite web |title=Watkins Visiting Professorship scientific lecture |url=http://www.wichita.edu/thisis/calendar/itemview.asp?VIEW=main&ITEM=4378 }} Wichita State University
• 1986 Underwood Award, Vanderbilt University Department of Physics and Astronomy

{{reflist|2}}

• [http://radio.seti.org/episodes/You_ve_Got_Sol_ Radio SETI interview, Fall 2011, entitled "You've Got Sol!"]
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20111223104945/http://tv.ibtimes.com/nasa-wise-mission-uncovers-stars-cooler-than-the-human-body-images/1720.html News report, August 2011, entitled "NASA WISE Mission Uncovers Stars Cooler Than The Human Body"]
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20130331040546/http://keckobservatory.org/education/podcast/2006/ Podcast of Keck Public Lecture, October 2006, entitled "Brown Dwarfs: Bridging the Gap Between Stars and Planets"]
• [http://coolcosmos.ipac.caltech.edu/cosmic_classroom/ask_astronomer/video/2003-003.shtml "Ask an Astronomer" video from 2003 entitled "What is a Brown Dwarf?"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120206043240/http://coolcosmos.ipac.caltech.edu/cosmic_classroom/ask_astronomer/video/2003-003.shtml |date=2012-02-06 }}

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Category:American astronomers

Category:University of Arizona alumni

Category:Vanderbilt University alumni

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Category:1964 births