ULAS J141623.94+134836.3: a Blue T Dwarf Companion to a Blue L Dwarf

Abstract

We confirm the substellar nature of ULAS J141623.94+134836.3, a common proper motion companion to the blue L dwarf SDSS J141624.08+134826.7 identified by Burningham et al. and Scholz. Low-resolution 0.8-2.4 micron spectroscopy obtained with IRTF/SpeX shows strong H2O and CH4 absorption bands, consistent with a T7.5 spectral type, and we see possible indications of NH3 absorption in the 1.0-1.3 micron region. More importantly, the spectrum of ULAS J1416+1348 shows a broadened Y-band peak and highly suppressed K-band flux, both indicative of high surface gravity and/or subsolar metallicity. These traits are verified through spectral model fits, from which we derive atmospheric parameters Teff = 650+/-60 K, log g = 5.2+/-0.4 cgs, [M/H] <= -0.3 and Kzz = 10^4 cm^2/s, the temperature being significantly warmer than that estimated by Burningham et al. These fits also indicate a model-dependent spectroscopic distance of 10.6(+3.0,-2.8) pc for ULAS J1416+1348, formally consistent with the 7.9+/-1.7 pc astrometric distance for SDSS J1416+1348 from Scholz. The common peculiarities of these two co-spatial, co-moving sources suggest that their unusual blue colors - and those of other blue L and T dwarfs in general - arise from age or metallicity, rather than cloud properties alone.

21 pages, 3 figures (manuscript format); submitted to ApJ, constructive comments welcome

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