Spitzer Infrared Spectrograph Observations of M, L, and T Dwarfs
Astrophysics
2008-11-26 v1
Abstract
We present the first mid-infrared spectra of brown dwarfs, together with observations of a low-mass star. Our targets are the M3.5 dwarf GJ 1001A, the L8 dwarf DENIS-P J0255-4700, and the T1/T6 binary system epsilon Indi Ba/Bb. As expected, the mid-infrared spectral morphology of these objects changes rapidly with spectral class due to the changes in atmospheric chemistry resulting from their differing effective temperatures and atmospheric structures. By taking advantage of the unprecedented sensitivity of the Infrared Spectrograph on the Spitzer Space Telescope we have detected the 7.8 micron methane and 10 micron ammonia bands for the first time in brown dwarf spectra.
Cite
@article{arxiv.astro-ph/0406222,
title = {Spitzer Infrared Spectrograph Observations of M, L, and T Dwarfs},
author = {T. L. Roellig and J. E. Van Cleve and G. C. Sloan and J. C. Wilson and D. Saumon and S. K. Leggett and M. S. Marley and M. C. Cushing and J. D. Kirkpatrick and A. K. Mainzer and J. R. Houck},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:astro-ph/0406222},
year = {2008}
}
Comments
4 pages, 2 figures