Related papers: Neglected Clouds in T and Y Dwarf Atmospheres
We address the problem of how dust forms and how it could be sustained in the static photospheres of cool dwarfs for a long time. In the cool and dense gas, dust forms easily at the condensation temperature, T_cond, and the dust can be in…
We present new 5.2-14.5 micron low-resolution spectra of 14 mid-L to mid-T dwarfs, as well as 3.0-4.1 micron spectra for five of these dwarfs. These data are supplemented by existing red and near-infrared spectra (0.6-2.5 micron), as well…
The transition between the L dwarf and T dwarf spectral classes is one of the most remarkable along the stellar/brown dwarf Main Sequence, separating sources with photospheres containing mineral condensate clouds from those containing…
Most directly imaged giant exoplanets are fainter than brown dwarfs with similar spectra. To explain their relative underluminosity unusually cloudy atmospheres have been proposed. However, with multiple parameters varying between any two…
The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) offers exceptional spectral resolution and wavelength coverage, which are essential for studying the coldest brown dwarfs, particularly Y dwarfs. These objects are at the cold end of the sub-stellar…
The precipitation of cloud particles in brown dwarf and exoplanet atmospheres establishes an ongoing downward flux of condensable elements. To understand the efficiency of cloud formation, it is therefore crucial to quantify the…
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…
A number of brown dwarfs are now known to be variable with observed amplitudes as large as 10-30% at some wavelengths. While spatial inhomogeneities in cloud coverage and thickness are likely responsible for much of the observed…
Ultra-cool brown dwarfs offer a unique window into understanding substellar atmospheric physics and chemistry. Their strong molecular absorption bands at infrared wavelengths, Jupiter-like radii, cool temperatures, and lack of complicating…
While the precise mechanism responsible for the L to T dwarf transition remains unclear, it is clearly caused by changing cloud characteristics. Here we briefly review data relevant to understanding the nature of the transition and argue…
We show that the two groups of ultracool dwarfs classified as L and T types can be understood as a temperature effect in a unique sequence of the model photospheres in which dust always exists but only in the restricted region deep in the…
Current atmospheric models cannot reproduce some of the characteristics of the transition between the L dwarfs with cloudy atmospheres and the T dwarfs with dust-depleted photospheres. It has been proposed that a majority of the L/T…
We present a large forward-modeling analysis for 55 late-T (T7-T9) dwarfs, using low-resolution ($R\approx150$) near-infrared spectra and cloudless Sonora-Bobcat model atmospheres. We derive the objects' effective temperatures, surface…
We report direct observational evidence for a latitudinal dependence of dust cloud opacity in ultracool dwarfs, indicating that equatorial latitudes are cloudier than polar latitudes. These results are based on a strong positive correlation…
We present YJHK photometry, or a subset, for the six Y dwarfs discovered in WISE data by Cushing et al.. The data were obtained using NIRI on the Gemini North telescope. We also present a far-red spectrum obtained using GMOS-North for…
In this paper, we calculate new line lists and opacities for the 12 bands of the A$^6\Sigma^{+}$ -- X$^6\Sigma^{+}$ transitions of the CrH molecule. Identified in objects of the new L dwarf spectroscopic class (many of which are brown…
Water must condense into ice clouds in the coldest brown dwarfs and exoplanets. When they form, these icy clouds change the emergent spectra, temperature structure, and albedo of the substellar atmosphere. The properties of clouds are…
We present new L' (3.75 um) photometry of six L and T dwarfs, and M' (4.70 um) photometry of ten L and T dwarfs, observed at Gemini Observatory, and new 3.55, 4.49, 5.73 and 7.87 um photometry of nine L and T dwarfs, obtained with the…
Because the opacity of clouds in substellar mass object (SMO) atmospheres depends on the composition and distribution of particle sizes within the cloud, a credible cloud model is essential for accurately modeling SMO spectra and colors. We…
We present a new grid of cloudy atmosphere and evolution models for substellar objects. These models include the effect of refractory cloud species, including silicate clouds, on the spectra and evolution. We include effective temperatures…