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1. Brown dwarf surface gravities with Keck/NIRSPEC
ID:
ivo://CDS.VizieR/J/ApJ/838/73
Title:
Brown dwarf surface gravities with Keck/NIRSPEC
Short Name:
J/ApJ/838/73
Date:
21 Oct 2021
Publisher:
CDS
Description:
We combine 131 new medium-resolution (R~2000) J-band spectra of M, L, and T dwarfs from the Keck NIRSPEC Brown Dwarf Spectroscopic Survey (BDSS) with 97 previously published BDSS spectra to study surface-gravity-sensitive indices for 228 low-mass stars and brown dwarfs spanning spectral types M5-T9. Specifically, we use an established set of spectral indices to determine surface gravity classifications for all of the M6-L7 objects in our sample by measuring the equivalent widths (EW) of the K I lines at 1.1692, 1.1778, and 1.2529{mu}m, and the 1.2{mu}m FeH_J_ absorption index. Our results are consistent with previous surface gravity measurements, showing a distinct double peak-at ~L5 and T5-in K I EW as a function of spectral type. We analyze the K I EWs of 73 objects of known ages and find a linear trend between log(Age) and EW. From this relationship, we assign age ranges to the very low gravity, intermediate gravity, and field gravity designations for spectral types M6-L0. Interestingly, the ages probed by these designations remain broad, change with spectral type, and depend on the gravity-sensitive index used. Gravity designations are useful indicators of the possibility of youth, but current data sets cannot be used to provide a precise age estimate.
2. Brown dwarfs with spectral type later than T6
ID:
ivo://CDS.VizieR/J/ApJ/842/118
Title:
Brown dwarfs with spectral type later than T6
Short Name:
J/ApJ/842/118
Date:
21 Oct 2021
Publisher:
CDS
Description:
The survey of the mid-infrared sky by the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) led to the discovery of extremely cold, low-mass brown dwarfs, classified as Y dwarfs, which extend the T class to lower temperatures. Twenty-four Y dwarfs are known at the time of writing. Here we present improved parallaxes for four of these, determined using Spitzer images. We give new photometry for four late-type T and three Y dwarfs and new spectra of three Y dwarfs, obtained at Gemini Observatory. We also present previously unpublished photometry taken from HST, ESO, Spitzer, and WISE archives of 11 late-type T and 9 Y dwarfs. The near-infrared data are put onto the same photometric system, forming a homogeneous data set for the coolest brown dwarfs. We compare recent models to our photometric and spectroscopic data set. We confirm that nonequilibrium atmospheric chemistry is important for these objects. Nonequilibrium cloud-free models reproduce well the near-infrared spectra and mid-infrared photometry for the warmer Y dwarfs with 425<=T_eff_(K)<=450. A small amount of cloud cover may improve the model fits in the near-infrared for the Y dwarfs with 325<=T_eff_(K)<=375. Neither cloudy nor cloud-free models reproduce the near-infrared photometry for the T_eff_=250K Y dwarf WISEJ085510.83-071442.5 (W0855). We use the mid-infrared region, where most of the flux originates, to constrain our models of W0855. We find that W0855 likely has a mass of 1.5-8 Jupiter masses and an age of 0.3-6Gyr. The Y dwarfs with measured parallaxes are within 20pc of the Sun and have tangential velocities typical of the thin disk. The metallicities and ages we derive for the sample are generally solar-like. We estimate that the known Y dwarfs are 3 to 20 Jupiter-mass objects with ages of 0.6-8.5Gyr.
3. COCONUTS. I. Spectra of a WD and T4 comoving syst.
ID:
ivo://CDS.VizieR/J/ApJ/891/171
Title:
COCONUTS. I. Spectra of a WD and T4 comoving syst.
Short Name:
J/ApJ/891/171
Date:
17 Jan 2022 13:06:37
Publisher:
CDS
Description:
We present the first discovery from the COol Companions ON Ultrawide orbiTS (COCONUTS) program, a large-scale survey for wide-orbit planetary and substellar companions. We have discovered a comoving system COCONUTS-1, composed of a hydrogen-dominated white dwarf (PSOJ058.9855+45.4184; d=31.5pc) and a T4 companion (PSOJ058.9869+45.4296) at a 40.6" (1280au) projected separation. We derive physical properties for COCONUTS-1B from (1) its near-infrared spectrum using cloudless Sonora atmospheric models, and (2) its luminosity and the white dwarf's age (7.3_-1.6_^+2.8^Gyr) using Sonora evolutionary models. The two methods give consistent temperatures and radii, but atmospheric models infer a lower surface gravity and therefore an unphysically young age. Assuming evolutionary model parameters (T_eff_=1255_-8_^+6^K, logg=5.44_-0.03_^+0.02^dex, R=0.789_-0.005_^+0.011^R_Jup_), we find that cloudless model atmospheres have brighter Y- and J-band fluxes than the data, suggesting that condensate clouds have not fully dispersed around 1300K. The W2 flux (4.6{mu}m) of COCONUTS-1B is fainter than models, suggesting non-equilibrium mixing of CO. To investigate the gravity dependence of the L/T transition, we compile all 60 known L6-T6 benchmarks and derive a homogeneous set of temperatures, surface gravities, and masses. As is well known, young, low-gravity late-L dwarfs have significantly fainter, redder near-infrared photometry and ~200-300K cooler temperatures than old, high-gravity objects. Our sample now reveals such gravity dependence becomes weaker for T dwarfs, with young objects having comparable near-infrared photometry and ~100K cooler temperatures compared to old objects. Finally, we find that young objects have a larger amplitude J-band brightening than old objects, and also brighten at H band as they cross the L/T transition.
4. NIR spectra of 2 extreme T-type subdwarfs
ID:
ivo://CDS.VizieR/J/ApJ/898/77
Title:
NIR spectra of 2 extreme T-type subdwarfs
Short Name:
J/ApJ/898/77
Date:
21 Mar 2022 08:47:02
Publisher:
CDS
Description:
We present the discoveries of WISEAJ041451.67-585456.7 and WISEAJ181006.18-101000.5, two low-temperature (1200-1400K), high proper motion T-type subdwarfs. Both objects were discovered via their high proper motion (>0.5yr^-1^); WISEA J181006.18-101000.5 as part of the NEOWISE proper motion survey and WISEA J041451.67-585456.7 as part of the citizen science project Backyard Worlds; Planet 9. We have confirmed both as brown dwarfs with follow-up near-infrared spectroscopy. Their spectra and near-infrared colors are unique among known brown dwarfs, with some colors consistent with L-type brown dwarfs and other colors resembling those of the latest-type T dwarfs. While no forward model consistently reproduces the features seen in their near-infrared spectra, the closest matches suggest very low metallicities ([Fe/H]<=-1), making these objects likely the first examples of extreme subdwarfs of the T spectral class (esdT). WISEAJ041451.67-585456.7 and WISEA J181006.18-101000.5 are found to be part of a small population of objects that occupy the "substellar transition zone", and have the lowest masses and effective temperatures of all objects in this group.
5. Parallaxes of late-T and Y dwarfs
ID:
ivo://CDS.VizieR/J/ApJS/240/19
Title:
Parallaxes of late-T and Y dwarfs
Short Name:
J/ApJS/240/19
Date:
21 Oct 2021
Publisher:
CDS
Description:
We present preliminary trigonometric parallaxes of 184 late-T and Y dwarfs using observations from Spitzer (143), the U.S. Naval Observatory (18), the New Technology Telescope (14), and the United Kingdom Infrared Telescope (9). To complete the 20pc census of >=T6 dwarfs, we combine these measurements with previously published trigonometric parallaxes for an additional 44 objects and spectrophotometric distance estimates for another 7. For these 235 objects, we estimate temperatures, sift into five 150K wide T_eff_ bins covering the range 300-1050K, determine the completeness limit for each, and compute space densities. To anchor the high-mass end of the brown dwarf mass spectrum, we compile a list of early- to mid-L dwarfs within 20pc. We run simulations using various functional forms of the mass function passed through two different sets of evolutionary code to compute predicted distributions in T_eff_. The best fit of these predictions to our L, T, and Y observations is a simple power-law model with {alpha}~0.6 (where dN/dM{propto}M^-{alpha}^), meaning that the slope of the field substellar mass function is in rough agreement with that found for brown dwarfs in nearby star-forming regions and young clusters. Furthermore, we find that published versions of the log-normal form do not predict the steady rise seen in the space densities from 1050 to 350K. We also find that the low-mass cutoff to formation, if one exists, is lower than ~5M_Jup_, which corroborates findings in young, nearby moving groups and implies that extremely low-mass objects have been forming over the lifetime of the Milky Way.
6. RVs of the late-T dwarf GL 758 B host star
ID:
ivo://CDS.VizieR/J/AJ/155/159
Title:
RVs of the late-T dwarf GL 758 B host star
Short Name:
J/AJ/155/159
Date:
21 Oct 2021
Publisher:
CDS
Description:
Gl 758 B is a late-T dwarf orbiting a metal-rich Sun-like star at a projected separation of {rho}~1.6" (25 au). We present four epochs of astrometry of this system with NIRC2 at Keck Observatory spanning 2010 to 2017 together with 630 radial velocities (RVs) of the host star acquired over the past two decades from McDonald Observatory, Keck Observatory, and the Automated Planet Finder at Lick Observatory. The RVs reveal that Gl 758 is accelerating with an evolving rate that varies between 2 and 5 m/s/yr, consistent with the expected influence of the imaged companion Gl 758 B. A joint fit of the RVs and astrometry yields a dynamical mass of 42_-7_^+19^ M_Jup_ for the companion with a robust lower limit of 30.5 M_Jup_ at the 4-{sigma} level. Gl 758 B is on an eccentric orbit (e=0.26-0.67 at 95% confidence) with a semimajor axis of a=21.1_-1.3_^+2.7^ au and an orbital period of P=96_-9_^+21^ yr, which takes it within ~9 au from its host star at periastron passage. Substellar evolutionary models generally underpredict the mass of Gl 758 B for nominal ages of 1-6 Gyr that have previously been adopted for the host star. This discrepancy can be reconciled if the system is older - which is consistent with activity indicators and recent isochrone fitting of the host star - or alternatively if the models are systematically overluminous by ~0.1-0.2 dex. Gl 758 B is currently the lowest-mass directly imaged companion inducing a measured acceleration on its host star. In the future, bridging RVs and high-contrast imaging with the next generation of extremely large telescopes and space-based facilities will open the door to the first dynamical mass measurements of imaged exoplanets.
7. Spitzer follow up of 95 brown dwarfs
ID:
ivo://CDS.VizieR/J/ApJ/899/123
Title:
Spitzer follow up of 95 brown dwarfs
Short Name:
J/ApJ/899/123
Date:
14 Mar 2022 07:05:10
Publisher:
CDS
Description:
We present Spitzer follow-up imaging of 95 candidate extremely cold brown dwarfs discovered by the Backyard Worlds: Planet 9 citizen science project, which uses visually perceived motion in multiepoch Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) images to identify previously unrecognized substellar neighbors to the Sun. We measure Spitzer [3.6]-[4.5] color to phototype our brown dwarf candidates, with an emphasis on pinpointing the coldest and closest Y dwarfs within our sample. The combination of WISE and Spitzer astrometry provides quantitative confirmation of the transverse motion of 75 of our discoveries. Nine of our motion-confirmed objects have best-fit linear motions larger than 1"/yr; our fastest-moving discovery is WISEAJ155349.96+693355.2 ({mu}~2.15/yr), a possible T-type subdwarf. We also report a newly discovered wide-separation (~400au) T8 comoving companion to the white dwarf LSPMJ0055+5948 (the fourth such system to be found), plus a candidate late T companion to the white dwarf LSRJ0002+6357 at 5.5 projected separation (~8700au if associated). Among our motion-confirmed targets, five have Spitzer colors most consistent with spectral type Y. Four of these five have exceptionally red Spitzer colors suggesting types of Y1 or later, adding considerably to the small sample of known objects in this especially valuable low-temperature regime. Our Y dwarf candidates begin bridging the gap between the bulk of the Y dwarf population and the coldest known brown dwarf.
8. Spitzer observations of Y and T dwarfs
ID:
ivo://CDS.VizieR/J/ApJ/867/109
Title:
Spitzer observations of Y and T dwarfs
Short Name:
J/ApJ/867/109
Date:
21 Oct 2021
Publisher:
CDS
Description:
Y dwarfs provide a unique opportunity to study free-floating objects with masses <30M_Jup_ and atmospheric temperatures approaching those of known Jupiter-like exoplanets. Obtaining distances to these objects is an essential step toward characterizing their absolute physical properties. Using Spitzer's Infrared Array Camera (IRAC) [4.5] images taken over baselines of ~2-7yrs, we measure astrometric distances for 22 late-T and early Y dwarfs, including updated parallaxes for 18 objects and new parallax measurements for 4 objects. These parallaxes will make it possible to explore the physical parameter space occupied by the coldest brown dwarfs. We also present the discovery of six new late-T dwarfs, updated spectra of two T dwarfs, and the reclassification of a new Y dwarf, WISE J033605.04-014351.0, based on Keck/NIRSPEC J-band spectroscopy. Assuming that effective temperatures are inversely proportional to absolute magnitude, we examine trends in the evolution of the spectral energy distributions of brown dwarfs with decreasing effective temperature. Surprisingly, the Y dwarf class encompasses a large range in absolute magnitude in the near- to mid-infrared photometric bandpasses, demonstrating a larger range of effective temperatures than previously assumed. This sample will be ideal for obtaining mid-infrared spectra with the James Webb Space Telescope because their known distances will make it easier to measure absolute physical properties.

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