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Abstract

Evolutionary models of brown dwarfs are plagued by a lack of observational constraints. The complex molecular chemistry of their atmospheres leaves a relatively wide parameter space for models to span. Placing accurate mass and luminosity data to observationally populate the mass-luminosity relationship provides a major contribution to an understanding of the interplay between gravitational contraction and nuclear burning. To date, individual dynamical masses are known for only a handful of brown dwarfs, therefore any new detections contributes greatly to brown dwarf models as they provide important analogues for the characterisation of exoplanets. Radial velocity measurements provide only a lower limit on the measured masses due to the unknown orbital inclination. Therefore directly imaging these candidates is needed to break that degeneracy and provide constraints on the dynamical mass of the companion. With over 20 years worth of radial velocity measurements from the CORALIE survey for extrasolar planets, we have identified several promising candidates that we have directly observed. In this talk we will announce the detection of a new benchmark 30 M_Jup brown dwarf with radial velocity and direct detections allowing us to constrain its dynamical mass, luminosity, spectral type and we obtain a low resolution spectrum of the companion. The discovery of benchmark sources provides a powerful and critical tool of advanced evolutionary models. As we move toward imaging smaller and smaller objects it is important to use these objects as a laboratory to test theoretical atmospheric models.