Protostars and Planets VI, Heidelberg, July 15-20, 2013

Poster 1K070

Young Brown Dwarfs at Low Spectral Resolution

Rice, Emily (College of Staten Island, CUNY & AMNH)
Filippazzo, Joe (College of Staten Island, CUNY Graduate Center & AMNH)
Faherty, Jackie (Universidad de Chile & AMNH)
Cruz, Kelle (Hunter College, CUNY & AMNH)

Abstract:
We are testing the utility of colors, very low resolution (R~30) near‐infrared spectra, and optical through mid‐infrared spectral energy distributions in distinguishing young, low‐gravity objects from field brown dwarfs and in disentangling estimates of temperature and gravity. An increasing number of young (~10–100s Myr) brown dwarfs are being discovered and characterized, and their observational properties are enticingly similar to directly‐imaged planetary mass companions. However, the ambiguity of the effects of physical parameters such as effective temperature, surface gravity, metallicity, and dust and clouds on observational properties is particularly troublesome at low effective temperatures (<2500 K). Developing efficient and reliable methods to characterize these objects is of key importance to understanding the formation and evolution of substellar objects and the atmospheric properties of massive gas giant planets. We present preliminary results using PHOENIX model atmospheres and the extensive database of optical and near‐infrared spectra and parallaxes gathered by the BDNYC, our Brown Dwarf research collaboration based in New York City.

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