Published online by Cambridge University Press: 14 August 2015
Spectra of M dwarfs are rich in atomic and molecular lines. These spectra provide such basicinformation as Teff (or radius), log g (or mass), surface chemical composition, and something more (e.g. activity) if properly interpreted. It is recognized, however, that spectra of M dwarfs are already dimmed by the dust formed in their photospheres (Tsuji et al. 1996a) and this effect, which has been overlooked until recently, should be taken into account in any interpretation and analysis of the spectra of very low mass objects (VLMOs) including late M dwarfs and brown dwarfs.