Predicting Cloud Conditions in Substellar Mass Objects Using Ultracool Dwarf Companions
Abstract
We present results from conducting a theoretical chemical analysis of a sample of benchmark companion brown dwarfs whose primary star is of type F, G or K. We summarize the entire known sample of these types of companion systems, termed "compositional benchmarks", that are present in the literature or recently published as key systems of study in order to best understand brown dwarf chemistry and condensate formation. Via mass balance and stoichiometric calculations, we predict a median brown dwarf atmospheric oxygen sink of by utilizing published stellar abundances in the local solar neighborhood. Additionally, we predict a silicate condensation sequence such that atmospheres with bulk Mg/Si 0.9 will form enstatite (MgSiO) and quartz (SiO) clouds and atmospheres with bulk Mg/Si 0.9 will form enstatite and forsterite (MgSiO) clouds. Implications of these results on C/O ratio trends in substellar mass objects and utility of these predictions in future modeling work are discussed.
Cite
@article{arxiv.2401.11038,
title = {Predicting Cloud Conditions in Substellar Mass Objects Using Ultracool Dwarf Companions},
author = {Emily Calamari and Jacqueline K. Faherty and Channon Visscher and Marina E. Gemma and Ben Burningham and Austin Rothermich},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2401.11038},
year = {2024}
}
Comments
20 pages, 2 tables, 4 figures. Accepted for publication in ApJ