Related papers: L-dwarf variability: Magnetic star spots or non-un…

We examine the hypothesis that the red near-infrared colors of some L dwarfs could be explained by a "dust haze" of small particles in their upper atmospheres. This dust haze would exist in conjunction with the clouds found in dwarfs with…

Doppler Imaging of starspots on young solar analogues is a way to investigate the early history of solar magnetic activity by proxy. Doppler images of young G-dwarfs have yielded the presence of large polar spots, extending to moderate…

Rapidly rotating late M dwarfs are observed in two different branches of magnetic activity, although they operate in the same stellar parameter range. Current empirical evidence indicates that M dwarfs with spectral types ranging from M3 /…

The Planck-HFI all-sky survey from 353 to 857GHz combined with the 100 microns IRAS show that the dust properties vary in the diffuse ISM at high Galactic latitude (1e19<NH<2.5e20 H/cm2). Our aim is to explain these variations with changes…

The strengths of magnetic fields in interstellar gas clouds are obtained through observations of the circular polarization of spectral line radiation. Irregularities in this magnetic field may be present due to turbulence, waves or perhaps…

The large scale structure of a brown dwarf atmosphere is determined by an interplay of convection, radiation, dust formation, and gravitational settling, which possibly provides an explanation for the observed variability. The result is an…

We report parallax measurements for 70 ultracool dwarfs (UCDs). Using both literature values and our sample, we report new polynomial relations between spectral type and M$_{JHK}$. Including resolved L/T transition binaries in the…

Condensate clouds are a salient feature of L dwarf atmospheres, but have been assumed to play little role in shaping the spectra of the coldest T-type brown dwarfs. Here we report evidence of condensate opacity in the near-infrared spectrum…

We report the discovery of a peculiar L dwarf from the UKIDSS LAS, ULAS J222711-004547. The very red infrared photometry (MKO J-K = 2.79$\pm$0.06, WISE W1-W2 = 0.65$\pm$0.05) of ULAS J222711-004547 makes it one of the reddest brown dwarfs…

We have observed the post common envelope binary WD0137-349 in the near infrared $J$, $H$ and $K$ bands and have determined that the photometry varies on the system period (116 min). The amplitude of the variability increases with…

The torsional oscillation is a well established observational fact and there are theoretical attempts for its description but no final solution has yet been accepted. One of the possible candidates for its cause is the presence of sunspots…

Magnetic fields significantly influence the structure of galaxies' interstellar media, but our understanding of magnetic field strengths and structures in external galaxies is severely limited. The Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) offers a…

Measurements of photometric variability at different wavelengths provide insights into the vertical cloud structure of brown dwarfs and planetary-mass objects. In seven Hubble Space Telescope consecutive orbits, spanning $\sim$10 h of…

Variability studies are an important tool to investigate key properties of stars and brown dwarfs. From photometric monitoring we are able to obtain information about rotation and magnetic activity, which are expected to change in the mass…

The discovery of exotic abundances, chemical inhomogeneities, and weak magnetic fields on the surface of late B-type primaries in spectroscopic binaries has important implications not only for our understanding of the formation mechanisms…

For 30 years, cyclical wind variability in OB stars has puzzled the astronomical community. Phenomenological models involving co-rotating bright spots provide a potential explanation for the observed variations, but the underlying physics…

Around 10% of white dwarfs exhibit global magnetic structures with fields ranging from 1 kG to hundreds of MG. Recently, the first radiation magnetohydrodynamics simulations of the atmosphere of white dwarfs showed that convection should be…

Luminous blue variables (LBVs) are evolved massive stars close to the Eddington limit, with a distinct spectroscopic and photometric variability having unsteady mass-loss rates. These stars show a considerable change in their surface…

We obtained high resolution ELODIE and CORALIE spectra for both components of 20 wide visual binaries composed of an F-, G- or K-dwarf primary and an M-dwarf secondary. We analyse the well understood spectra of the primaries to determine…

Recent atmospheric models for brown dwarfs suggest that the existence of clouds in substellar objects is not needed to reproduce their spectra, nor their rotationally-induced photometric variability, believed to be due to the heterogeneous…