SIMBAD references

2017ApJ...849...72K - Astrophys. J., 849, 72-72 (2017/November-8)

Characterizing the cloud decks of Luhman 16AB with medium-resolution spectroscopic monitoring.

KELLOGG K., METCHEV S., HEINZE A., GAGNE J. and KURTEV R.

Abstract (from CDS):

We present results from a two-night R ∼ 4000 0.9-2.5 µm spectroscopic monitoring campaign of Luhman 16AB (L7.5 + T0.5). We assess the variability amplitude as a function of pressure level in the atmosphere of Luhman 16B: the more variable of the two components. The amplitude decreases monotonically with decreasing pressure, indicating that the source of variability-most likely patchy clouds-lies in the lower atmosphere. An unexpected result is that the strength of the K I absorption is higher in the faint state of Luhman 16B and lower in the bright state. We conclude that either the abundance of K I increases when the clouds roll in, potentially because of additional K I in the cloud itself, or that the temperature-pressure profile changes. We reproduce the change in K I absorption strengths with combinations of spectral templates to represent the bright and the faint variability states. These are dominated by a warmer L8 or L9 component, with a smaller contribution from a cooler T1 or T2 component. The success of this approach argues that the mechanism responsible for brown dwarf variability is also behind the diverse spectral morphology across the L-to-T transition. We further suggest that the L9-T1 part of the sequence represents a narrow but random ordering of effective temperatures and cloud fractions, obscured by the monotonic progression in methane absorption strength.

Abstract Copyright: © 2017. The American Astronomical Society. All rights reserved.

Journal keyword(s): brown dwarfs - stars: individual: WISE J104915.57-531906.1AB - stars: individual: WISE J104915.57-531906.1

Simbad objects: 11

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