Related papers: Using Narrow Band Photometry to Classify Stars and…
We present near-infrared spectra for a sample of T dwarfs, including eleven new discoveries made using the Two Micron All Sky Survey. These objects are distinguished from warmer (L-type) brown dwarfs by the presence of methane absorption…
We report the discovery of a population of young brown dwarf candidates in the open star cluster IC348 and the development of a new spectroscopic classification technique using narrow band photometry. Observations were made using FLITECAM,…
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,…
A revised near infrared classification scheme for T dwarfs is presented, based on and superseding prior schemes developed by Burgasser et al. and Geballe et al., and defined following the precepts of the MK Process. Drawing from two large…
We define and characterize a photometric bandpass (called "Y") that is centered at 1.035 um, in between the traditionally classified ``optical'' and ``infrared'' spectral regimes. We present Y magnitudes and Y-H and Y-K colors for a sample…
Context: Brown dwarfs exhibit complex atmospheric signatures, and their properties depend sensitively on effective temperature, surface gravity, and metallicity. Several physical properties of brown dwarfs in binary systems can be well…
AIMS: We aim to evaluate the near-infrared colors of brown dwarfs as observed with four major infrared imaging space observatories: the Hubble Space Telescope (HST), the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), the Euclid mission, and the WFIRST…
We present the design and implementation of a medium-band near-IR filter tailored for detecting low-mass stars and brown dwarfs from the summit of Maunakea. The W-band filter is centered at 1.45 micron with a bandpass width of 6%, designed…
We discuss methods for classifying T dwarfs based on spectral morphological features and indices. T dwarfs are brown dwarfs which exhibit methane absorption bands at 1.6 and 2.2 ${\mu}m$. Spectra at red optical (6300--10100 {\AA}) and…
The spectral type is a key parameter in calibrating the temperature which is required to estimate the mass of young stars and brown dwarfs. We describe an approach developed to classify low-mass stars and brown dwarfs in the Trapezium…
Aims. We present a method, named photo-type, to identify and accurately classify L and T dwarfs onto the standard spectral classification system using photometry alone. This enables the creation of large and deep homogeneous samples of…
We present 0.6-2.5um, R~400 spectra of twenty-seven cool, low luminosity stars and substellar objects. Based on these and previously published spectra we develop a preliminary spectral classification system for L and T dwarfs. For late L…
Condensate clouds strongly impact the spectra of brown dwarfs and exoplanets. Recent discoveries of variable L/T transition dwarfs argued for patchy clouds in at least some ultracool atmospheres. This study aims to measure the frequency and…
Recent monitoring programs of ultra cool field M and L dwarfs (low mass stars or brown dwarfs) have uncovered low amplitude photometric I-band variations which may be associated with an inhomogeneous distribution of photospheric…
We present first results from a major program of methane filter photometry for low-mass stars and brown dwarfs. The definition of a new methane filter photometric system is described. A recipe is provided for the differential calibration of…
Context. Metal-poor brown dwarfs are poorly understood because they are extremely faint and rare. Only a few candidates have been identified as T-type subdwarfs in infrared surveys and their optical properties remain unconstrained. Aims. We…
We present the first results of a near-infrared (0.96-2.31 micron) spectroscopic survey of M, L, and T dwarfs obtained with NIRSPEC on the Keck II telescope. Our new survey has a resolving power of R = 2000 and is comprised of two major…
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…
We present the discovery of seven new T dwarfs identified in the Two Micron All Sky Survey. Low-resolution (R$\sim$150) 0.8--2.5 micron spectroscopy obtained with the IRTF SpeX instrument reveal the characteristic H$_2$O and CH$_4$ bands in…
In this contribution, I discuss some of the salient features of L and T dwarf spectra in both the red optical (6300--10000 {\AA}) and near-infrared (1--2.5 $\micron$) wavelength regimes. Important absorption bands and lines, including those…