Physics – Optics
Scientific paper
Jul 2007
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2007hst..prop11136l&link_type=abstract
HST Proposal ID #11136. Cycle 16
Physics
Optics
Scientific paper
We propose to obtain resolved far-red and near-IR photometry of 13 brown dwarf binaries with HST/NICMOS in order to study one of the long-standing puzzles in ultracool astrophysics, namely the rapid change in spectra from L dwarfs to T dwarfs at nearly constant effective temperature a.k.a. the "L/T transition''. While many nearby brown dwarfs have been studied, use of such samples is inevitably hindered by the unknown ages, masses, and metallicities of the field population. Characterization of resolved ultracool binaries is a promising avenue for addressing this problem, by providing coeval systems of the same composition with comparable masses and temperatures. Our proposed HST/NICMOS 0.9-1.6 micron observations will be combined with longer wavelength ground-based photometry and spectroscopy from Keck laser guide star adaptive optics. The resulting multiband 0.9-2.5 micron dataset will be a unique resource for measuring the evolution of spectral energy distributions across the L/T transition, to test state-of-the-art atmospheric models, and to determine the physical processes that dominate the L/T transition. Understanding the L/T transition is important not only for testing brown dwarf atmospheres, but also provides a key pathway for understanding the same physical effects, namely the formation and removal of clouds, in the atmospheres of the extrasolar planets.;
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