John E. Gizis, Jacqueline K. Faherty, Michael C. Liu, Philip J. Castro, John D. Shaw, Frederick J. Vrba, Hugh C. Harris, Kimberly M. Aller, Niall R. Deacon
We report the discovery of an unusually red brown dwarf found in a search for high proper motion objects using WISE and 2MASS data. WISEP J004701.06+680352.1 is moving at 0.44$ arcsec/yr and lies relatively close to the Galactic Plane (b=5.2 degrees). Near-infrared photometry and spectroscopy reveals that this is one of the reddest (2MASS J-K_s = 2.55 +/- 0.08 mag) field L dwarfs yet detected, making this object an important member of the class of unusually red L dwarfs. We discuss evidence for thick condensate clouds and speculate on the age of the object. Although models by different research groups agree that thick clouds can explain the red spectrum, they predict dramatically different effective temperatures, ranging from 1100K to 1600K. This brown dwarf is well suited for additional studies of extremely dusty substellar atmospheres because it is relatively bright (K_s = 13.05 +/- 0.03 mag), which should also contribute to an improved understanding of young gas-giant planets and the transition between L and T brown dwarfs.
Rotational modulations of emission spectra in brown dwarf and exoplanet atmospheres show that clouds are often distributed non-uniformly in these ultracool atmospheres. The spatial heterogeneity in cloud distribution demonstrates the impact of atmospheric dynamics on cloud formation and evolution. In this study, we update the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) time-series data analysis of the previously reported rotational modulations of WISEP J004701+680352 -- an unusually red late-L brown dwarf with a spectrum similar to that of the directly imaged planet HR8799e. We construct a self-consistent sp…
We have conducted a near-infrared (NIR) proper motion survey, the Sondage Infrarouge de Mouvement Propre, in order to discover field ultracool dwarfs (UCD) in the solar neighborhood. The survey was conducted by imaging $\sim28\%$ of the sky with the Caméra PAnoramique Proche-InfraRouge both in the southern hemisphere at the Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory 1.5 m telescope, and in the northern hemisphere at the Observatoire du Mont-Mégantic 1.6 m telescope and comparing the source positions from these observations with the Two Micron All-Sky Survey Point Source Catalog (2MASS PSC). Addit…
VVV J12564163$-$6202039 is an L subdwarf located in the Galactic plane ($b$ = 0.831 deg) discovered by its high proper motion (1.1 arcsec yr/s). We obtained an optical to near-infrared spectrum of it with the X-shooter on the Very Large Telescope, and re-classified it as an sdL3 subdwarf. Its best-fitting BT-Dusty model spectrum has $T_{\rm eff}$ = 2220 K, [Fe/H] = $-0.9$, and log $g$ = 5.5. It is just below the stellar/substellar boundary in the $T_{\rm eff}$ versus [Fe/H] parameter space. This object is at a distance of 66.94$^{+8.49}_{-6.77}$ pc according to the $Gaia$ astrometry. It has a …
We present spectroscopy, astrometry, and photometry of the brown dwarf WISEP J004701.06+680352.1 (W0047+68), an unusually red field L dwarf at a distance of $12.2 \pm 0.4$ parsecs. The three-dimensional space motion identifies it as a member of the AB Dor Moving Group, an identification supported by our classification of W0047+68 as intermediate surface gravity (INT-G) using the Allers \& Liu (2013) near-infrared classification system. This moving group membership implies near-solar metallicity, age $\sim 100-125$ Myr, $M \approx 0.018~M_\odot$, and $\log g \approx 4.5$; the thick condensate c…
We report the discovery of an L dwarf companion to the A3V star β Circini. VVV J151721.49-585131.5, or β Cir B, was identified in a proper motion and parallax catalogue of the Vista Variables in the Vía Láctea survey as having near infrared luminosity and colour indicative of an early L dwarf, and a proper motion and parallax consistent with that of β Cir. The projected separation of $\sim$3.6' corresponds to $6656$ au, which is unusually wide. The most recent published estimate of the age of the primary combined with our own estimate based on newer isochrones yields an age of $370-500$ Myr. T…
Hubble Space Telescope Imaging and Spectral Analysis of Two Brown Dwarf Binaries at the L Dwarf/T Dwarf Transition
我们提出了一个详细的检查棕矮星倍数2 MASS J 08503593 +1057156和2 MASS J17281150+3948593，都怀疑窝藏组件跨越L矮/T矮过渡。哈勃太空望远镜/NICMOS的测光结果显示，两颗恒星的相对颜色呈现相反的趋势，2 MASS J 0850 +1057的次级恒星比其初级恒星更红，而2 MASS J1728+3948的次级恒星则更蓝。我们确定近红外组件类型相匹配的组合光，近红外光谱数据的二元模板，与组分光谱缩放到解决NICMOS和Kp光度。推断出2 MASS J 0850 +1057的L7 + L 6和2 MASS J1728+3948的L5 + L6.5的组合。值得注意的是，2 MASS J 0850 +1057的主星似乎比它的次级星有一个较晚的类型分类，尽管它在近红外线上比次级星亮0.8-1.2等，而2 MASS J1728+3948的主星在其组合光光学分类上异常早。与绝对星等/光谱类型趋势的比较也区分了这些分量，2 MASS J 0850 + 1057 A比同等分类的场对应物亮约1等，2 MASS J1728+ 3948 A比同等分类的场对应物暗约0.5等。我们推断，厚厚的凝结云可能是2 MASS J1728+ 3948 A的不寻常特性的原因，而2 MASS J 0850 + 1057 A要么是一颗膨胀的年轻棕矮星，要么是一颗紧密的未解析双星…
The enigmatic young brown dwarf binary FU Tau: accretion and activity
富头星属于一个罕见的年轻宽棕矮星双星。我们在钱德拉X射线观测中解决了该系统，并仅检测到了主要的FU Tau A。硬X射线发射，可能来自日冕，但出乎意料的是，我们还检测到来自FU Tau A的强烈和异常柔软的成分。它的X射线特性，迄今为止在褐矮星中是独一无二的，与金牛座T星TW Hya的X射线特性非常相似。与TW Hya的类比表明，占主导地位的软X射线成分可以解释为吸积冲击的发射。然而，褐矮星的典型自由落体速度太低，无法将观测到的X射线温度解释为激波后区域。另一方面，超过自由落体速度的速度来自档案光学光谱学，并在光学光度学中发现了FU Tau A强吸积的独立证据。FU Tau A的高X射线光度与高辐射热光度相吻合，证实了年轻棕矮星中一种无法解释的趋势。事实上，FU头A是overloughly相对于进化模型，而FU头B是在1万年的等时线表明非同期形成的两个组成部分的二进制。FU Tau A的极端年轻可能是其特殊X射线特性的原因，就非典型的磁活动或吸积而言。或者，旋转和磁场效应可能会降低对流的效率，这又会影响FU Tau A的有效温度和半径，使其在HR图中的位置发生偏移。虽然有没有直接证明后一种情况下，到目前为止，我们提出的论据，其可扩展性。
We present new radial velocity and trigonometric parallax measurements indicating that the unusually red and photometrically variable T2 dwarf 2MASS J13243553+6358281 is a member of the young (~150 Myr) AB Doradus moving group based on its space velocity. We estimate its model-dependent mass in the range 11-12 $M_{\rm Jup}$ at the age of the AB Doradus moving group, and its trigonometric parallax distance of 12.7 $\pm$ 1.5 pc makes it one of the nearest known isolated planetary-mass objects. The unusually red continuum of 2MASS J13243553+6358281 in the near-infrared was previously suspected to…
Radial velocity measurements are presented for 85 late M- and L-type very low mass stars and brown dwarfs obtained with the Magellan Echellette (MagE) spectrograph. Targets primarily have distances within 20 pc of the Sun, with more distant sources selected for their unusual spectral energy distributions. We achieved precisions of 2--3 km/s, and combined these with astrometric and spectrophotometric data to calculate $UVW$ velocities. Most are members of the thin disk of the Galaxy, and velocity dispersions indicate a mean age of 5.2$\pm$0.2 Gyr for sources within 20 pc. We find significantly …
We present the final results from a targeted search for brown dwarfs with unusual near-infrared colors. From a positional cross-match of SDSS, 2MASS and WISE, we have identified 144 candidate peculiar L and T dwarfs. Spectroscopy confirms that 20 of the objects are peculiar or are candidate binaries. Nine of the 420 objects in our sample are young ($\lesssim$200 Myr; 2.1%) and another 8 (1.9%) are unusually red with no signatures of youth. With a spectroscopic $J-K_s$ color of 2.58 $\pm$ 0.11 mag, one of the new objects, the L6 dwarf 2MASS J03530419+0418193, is among the reddest field dwarfs c…
We report the discovery of a giant planet in the OGLE-2017-BLG-1522 microlensing event. The planetary perturbations were clearly identified by high-cadence survey experiments despite the relatively short event timescale of $t_{\rm E} \sim 7.5$ days. The Einstein radius is unusually small, $θ_{\rm E} = 0.065\,$mas, implying that the lens system either has very low mass or lies much closer to the microlensed source than the Sun, or both. A Bayesian analysis yields component masses $(M_{\rm host}, M_{\rm planet})=(46_{-25}^{+79}, 0.75_{-0.40}^{+1.26})~M_{\rm J}$ and source-lens distance $D_{\rm L…
We present optical and near-infrared photometry and spectroscopy of SN 2009ib, a Type II-P supernova in NGC 1559. This object has moderate brightness, similar to those of the intermediate-luminosity SNe 2008in and 2009N. Its plateau phase is unusually long, lasting for about 130 days after explosion. The spectra are similar to those of the subluminous SN 2002gd, with moderate expansion velocities. We estimate the $^{56}$Ni mass produced as $0.046 \pm 0.015\,{\rm M}_{\sun}$. We determine the distance to SN 2009ib using both the expanding photosphere method (EPM) and the standard candle method. …
There are 88 stars which lack colours, but have measured parallaxes in \textit{Gaia} EDR3 that place them within 20\,pc from the sun. Among them we found two new common parallax and proper motion (CPPM) companions separated from their primaries by about 3\,arcsec. The CPPM companion of a nearby ($d=14.98$\,pc) F1 star, \object{HD 105452 B}, was already imaged with the \textit{Hubble Space Telescope} and is now confirmed with \textit{Gaia} data and photometrically classified by us as M4 dwarf. The other CPPM companion, \object{SCR J1214-2345 B} orbiting an M4.5 dwarf at $d=10.77$\,pc, represent…
The brown dwarf population in the canonical star forming region NGC2264 is so far poorly explored. We present a deep, multi-wavelength, multi-epoch survey of the star forming cluster NGC2264, aimed to identify young brown dwarf candidates in this region. Using criteria including optical/near-infrared colours, variability, Spitzer mid-infrared colour excess, extinction, and Gaia parallax and proper motion (in order of relevance), we select 902 faint red sources with indicators of youth. Within this sample we identify 429 brown dwarf candidates based on their infrared colours. The brown dwarf ca…
We present the serendipitous discovery of a late T-type brown dwarf candidate in JWST NIRCam observations of the Early Release Science Abell 2744 parallel field. The discovery was enabled by the sensitivity of JWST at 4~$μ$m wavelengths and the panchromatic 0.9--4.5~$μ$m coverage of the spectral energy distribution. The unresolved point source has magnitudes F115W = 27.95$\pm$0.15 and F444W = 25.84$\pm$0.01 (AB), and its F115W$-$F444W and F356W$-$F444W colors match those expected for other, known T dwarfs. We can exclude it as a reddened background star, high redshift quasar, or very high reds…
Phase-resolved Hubble Space Telescope WFC3 Spectroscopy of Weakly-Irradiated Brown Dwarf GD 1400 and Energy Redistribution-Irradiation Trends in Six WD$-$BD Binaries
Condensate clouds fundamentally impact the atmospheric structure and spectra of exoplanets and brown dwarfs but the connections between surface gravity, cloud structure, dust in the upper atmosphere, and the red colors of some brown dwarfs remain poorly understood. Rotational modulations enable the study of different clouds in the same atmosphere, thereby providing a method to isolate the effects of clouds. Here we present the discovery of high peak-to-peak amplitude (8%) rotational modulations in a low-gravity, extremely red (J-Ks=2.55) L6 dwarf WISEP J004701.06+680352.1 (W0047). Using the Hu…
Rotationally-modulated variability of brown dwarfs and giant planets provides unique information about their surface brightness inhomogeneities, atmospheric circulation, cloud evolution, vertical atmospheric structure, and rotational angular momentum. We report results from Hubble Space Telescope/Wide Field Camera 3 near-infrared time-series spectroscopic observations of three companions with masses in or near the planetary regime: VHS J125601.92-125723.9 b, GSC 6214-210 B, and ROXs 42 B b. VHS J1256-1257 b exhibits strong total intensity and spectral variability with a brightness difference o…
In this work, we present photometric and spectroscopic data of the low-luminosity Type IIP supernova (SN) 2018hwm. The object shows a faint ($M_r=-15$ mag) and very long ($\sim$130 days) plateau, followed by a 2.7 mag drop in the $r$-band to the radioactive tail. The first spectrum shows a blue continuum with narrow Balmer lines, while during the plateau the spectra show numerous metal lines, all with strong and narrow P-Cygni profiles. The expansion velocities are low, in the 1000-1400 km s$^{-1}$ range. The nebular spectrum, dominated by H$α$ in emission, reveals weak emission from [O I] and…
Time-resolved Hubble Space Telescope Wide Field Camera 3 Spectrophotometry Reveals Inefficient Day-to-Night Heat Redistribution in the Highly Irradiated Brown Dwarf SDSS 1557B
In the past years, some extremely red brown dwarfs were found. They were believed to have low surface gravity, but many of their spectral characteristics were similar to those of high surface gravity brown dwarfs, showing that youth (or low surface gravity) spectral characteristics are poorly understood. We aim to test surface gravity indicators in late-M and early-L brown dwarf spectra using data obtained with the X-shooter spectrograph at the Very Large Telescope. We selected a benchmark sample of brown dwarfs members of Chamaeleon\,I ($\sim$2 Myr), Upper Scorpius (5$-$10~Myr), Pleiades (132…
This work aims to improve the current understanding of the atmospheres of brown dwarfs, especially cold ones with spectral type T and Y, whose modeling is a current challenge. Silicate and iron clouds are believed to disappear at the photosphere at the L/T transition, but cloudless models fail to reproduce correctly the spectra of T dwarfs, advocating for the addition of more physics, e.g. other types of clouds or internal energy transport mechanisms. We use a one-dimensional (1D) radiative/convective equilibrium code ATMO to investigate this issue. This code includes both equilibrium and out-…
We are conducting a proper-motion survey for young brown dwarfs in the Taurus-Auriga molecular cloud based on the Pan-STARRS1 3$π$ Survey. Our search uses multi-band photometry and astrometry to select candidates, and is wider (370 deg$^{2}$) and deeper (down to $\approx$3 M$_{\rm Jup}$) than previous searches. We present here our search methods and spectroscopic follow-up of our high-priority candidates. Since extinction complicates spectral classification, we have developed a new approach using low-resolution ($R \approx 100$) near-infrared spectra to quantify reddening-free spectral types, …
