We discovered a low-mass companion to the M-dwarf GJ 164 with the CCD-based
imaging system of the Stellar Planet Survey (STEPS) astrometric program. The
existence of GJ 164B was confirmed with Hubble Space Telescope NICMOS imaging
observations. A high-dispersion spectral observation in V sets a lower limit of
delta m> 2.2 mag between the two components of the system. Based upon our
parallax value of 0.082 +/- 0.008, we derive the following orbital parameters:
P = 2.04 +/- 0.03 y, a = 1.03 +/- 0.03 AU, and Mtotal = 0.265 +/- 0.020 MSun.
The component masses are MA = 0.170 +/- 0.015 MSun and MB = 0.095 +/- 0.015
MSun. Based on its mass, colors, and spectral properties, GJ 164B has spectral
type M6-8 V.Comment: pdf file 14 pages with 6 fig