Brief search for low-mass objects

Observations of the nearby white dwarfs EG 5 (van Maanen 2) and EG 290 obtained in the J, H, K, L, L-prime, and M bands using an RC1 photometer at the Cassegrain focus of the 3.3-m IR telescope at Mauna Kea on Dec. 2, 1983 are reported. The L-band fluxes are analyzed to search for low-mass companion objects, but none is found. Upper limits of Te = 850 K and L = 5 x 10 to the -6th solar luminosity are established for the putative companions of both dwarfs, corresponding to a mass of 0.027 solar mass or less for an age of 3 Gyr.