THE MASS-LUMINOSITY-RELATION FOR STARS OF MASS 1.0 TO 0.08M-CIRCLE-DOT

Mass-luminosity relations determined at infrared wavelengths are presented for stars with masses 1.0 to 0.08M.. Using infrared speckle imaging techniques on a sample of nearby binaries, we have been able to concentrate on the lower main sequence (M less-than-or-equal-to 0.5M.), for which an accurate mass-luminosity calibration has remained problematic. In addition, the mass-visual luminosity relation for stars with 2.0 greater-than-or-equal-to M greater-than-or-equal-to 0.08M. is produced by implementing new photometric relations linking V to JHK wavelengths for the nearby stars, supplemented with eclipsing binary information. These relations predict that objects with masses approximately 0.08M. have M(K) approximately 10 and M(V) approximately 18.