AAS 207th Meeting, 8-12 January 2006
Session 68 Extra-Solar Planets II: Current Searches, Properties and Analysis
Poster, Tuesday, 9:20am-6:30pm, January 10, 2006, Exhibit Hall

Previous   |   Session 68   |   Next  |   Author Index   |   Block Schedule

[68.14] Possible Age Effects on Brown Dwarf Spectral Features in the Near-Infrared

A. Solomon (Bellmore-JFK High School, AMNH), K.L. Cruz (AMNH)

We report the initial results of a study comparing the far-red optical and near-infrared spectra of 53 nearby L dwarfs. Our aim is to characterize the near-infrared discrepancies found among objects of the same optical spectral type and determine their causes. We show near-infrared spectra of L dwarfs with varying strengths of collision-induced H2 absorption (H2 CIA) as evidenced by a `peaky' shape in the H band and redder (J-H) and (J-Ks) colors. H2 CIA is very pressure-sensitive and, as such, is an indicator of gravity and, in turn, age, as recently proposed by Kirkpatrick et al. (2005). Our findings are evidence that gravity is a significant factor in the near-infrared spectral classification of L dwarfs, suggesting a possible new method with which to infer information about a brown dwarf's age and mass.

Previous   |   Session 68   |   Next

Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society, 37 #4
© 2005. The American Astronomical Soceity.