We present an analysis of brown dwarf model spectra in the mid-infrared spectral region (5 - 20 microns), in anticipation of data obtained with the Space Infrared Telescope Facility. The mid-infrared spectra of brown dwarfs are in several ways simpler than those in the near-infrared and yet provide powerful diagnostics of brown dwarf atmospheric physics and chemistry, especially when combined with ground-based data. We discuss the possibility of detection of new molecular species and of the silicate cloud, predict strong observational diagnostics for non-equilibrium chemistry between CO and CH4, and N2 and NH3, and speculate on the possibility of discovering brown dwarf stratospheres.
@article{arxiv.astro-ph/0310805,
title = {The Mid-Infrared Spectra of Brown Dwarfs},
author = {D. Saumon and M. S. Marley and K. Lodders},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:astro-ph/0310805},
year = {2007}
}
Comments
14 pages, including 3 figures and 1 table. Submitted to ApJ Letters