Astronomy and Astrophysics – Astronomy
Scientific paper
Dec 1997
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=1997aas...191.2602n&link_type=abstract
American Astronomical Society, 191st AAS Meeting, #26.02; Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society, Vol. 29, p.1253
Astronomy and Astrophysics
Astronomy
Scientific paper
The spectrum of Gl 229B in the 4.5-5.1 mu m interval shows evidence for CO at mole fractions of qCO > 50 ppm. Molecular line opacity limits the depth to which we can see at these wavelengths to the T ~ 800 K level. At this temperature, the predicted equilibrium abundance of CO (Fegley and Lodders, ApJ 472, L37 [1996]) is more than 1600 times lower than the lower limit we determine. Dynamical quenching of CO-CH_4 equilibrium is one mechanism that can lead to enhanced CO at low temperatures, but this mechanism requires convection in the T ~ 800-1250 K, P ~ 1-8 bar region of Gl 229B's atmosphere, a region in which a detached convection zone is predicted by some models of Gl 229B (Marley et al. Science 272, 1919 [1996]). The presence of disequilibrium abundances of CO in Gl 229B's upper atmosphere reduces the emergent flux in the 4-5 mu m interval and may make searches for new brown dwarfs using this band less sensitive.
Geballe Thomas Ronald
Marley Mark S.
Noll Keith S.
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