Related papers: A Patchy Cloud Model for the L to T Dwarf Transiti…
Brown dwarfs are compact objects that do not reach temperatures high enough to produce sustained hydrogen fusion. Consequently, they cool over time, gradually evolving through later spectral types. In fact, three new spectral types (L, T,…
The L/T transition is a critical evolutionary stage for brown dwarfs and self-luminous giant planets. L/T transition brown dwarfs are more likely to be spectroscopically variable, and their high-amplitude variability probes distributions in…
Growing observations of brown dwarfs have provided evidence for strong atmospheric circulation on these objects. Directly imaged planets share similar observations, and can be viewed as low-gravity versions of brown dwarfs. Vigorous…
Growing observational evidence has suggested active meteorology in atmospheres of brown dwarfs (BDs) and directly imaged extrasolar giant planets (EGPs). In particular, a number of surveys have shown that near-IR brightness variability is…
We developed a simple, physical and self-consistent cloud model for brown dwarfs and young giant exoplanets. We compared different parametrisations for the cloud particle size, by either fixing particle radii, or fixing the mixing…
We present an analysis of the 0.95-14.5 micron spectral energy distributions of nine field ultracool dwarfs with spectral types ranging from L1 to T4.5. Effective temperatures, gravities, and condensate cloud sedimentation efficiencies are…
The new spectroscopic classes, L and T, are defined by the role of dust clouds in their atmospheres, the former by their presence and the latter by their removal and near absence. Moreover, the M to L and L to T transitions are intimately…
The rotational spectral modulation (spectro-photometric variability) of brown dwarfs is usually interpreted as a sign of the presence of inhomogeneous cloud covers in the atmosphere. This paper aims at exploring the role of temperature…
The admitted, conventional scenario to explain the complex spectral evolution of brown dwarfs (BD) since their first detections twenty years ago, has always been the key role played by micron-size condensates, called "dust" or "clouds", in…
Brown dwarfs -- substellar bodies more massive than planets but not massive enough to initiate the sustained hydrogen fusion that powers self-luminous stars -- are born hot and slowly cool as they age. As they cool below about 2,300 K,…
We fit archival near-infrared spectra of 305 brown dwarfs with atmosphere models from the Sonora and Phoenix groups. Using the parameters of the best-fit models as estimates for the physical properties of the brown dwarfs in our sample, we…
Brown dwarfs constitute a missing link between low-mass stars and giant planets. Their atmospheres display chemical species typical of planets, and one could wonder whether they also have weather-like patterns. While brown dwarf surface…
In this brief contribution, I touch on a subset of recent efforts in spectral and opacity modeling aimed at improving our understanding of brown dwarfs, L dwarfs, and T dwarfs. I discuss theoretical calculations of the alkali line profiles,…
Recent observations revealed that the infrared colors of L and T dwarfs show a large variation at a given T_ eff and this result may imply that the thickness of the dust cloud is changing at a given T_ eff. Our Unified Cloudy Model (UCM),…
We have generated new, self-consistent spectral and atmosphere models for the effective temperature range 600 K to 1300 K thought to encompass the known T dwarfs. For the first time, theoretical models are compared with a {\it family} of…
While scattering of light by atoms and molecules yields large amount of polarization at the B-band of both T- and L-dwarfs, scattering by dust grains in cloudy atmosphere of L-dwarfs gives rise to significant polarization at the far-optical…
Multi-wavelength photometry of brown dwarfs and planetary-mass objects provides insight into their atmospheres and cloud layers. We present near-simultaneous $J-$ and $K_s-$band multi-wavelength observations of the highly variable T2.5…
The evolution of brown dwarfs from L to T spectral types is one of the least understood aspects of the ultracool population, partly for lack of a large, well-defined, and well-characterized sample in the L/T transition. To improve the…
Observational facilities allow now the detection of optical and IR spectra of young M- and L-dwarfs. This enables empirical comparisons with old M- and L- dwarfs, and detailed studies in comparison with synthetic spectra. While classical…
Recent photometry of L and T dwarfs revealed that the infrared colors show a large variation at a given Teff and, within the framework of our Unified Cloudy Model (UCM), this result can be interpreted as due to a variation of the critical…