Variability of Brown Dwarfs

Abstract

Brown dwarfs constitute a missing link between low-mass stars and giant planets. Their atmospheres display chemical species typical of planets, and one could wonder whether they also have weather-like patterns. While brown dwarf surface features cannot be directly resolved, the photometric and spectroscopic modulations induced by these features, as they rotate in and out of view, provide a wealth of information on the evolution of their atmosphere. A review of brown dwarfs variability through the L, T and Y spectral types sequence is presented, as well as the constraints that they set on the nature of weather-like patterns on their surface.

arXiv commentAccepted chapter in the "Handbook of Exoplanets"; Springer

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Cited by in corpus (8)

• Beyond Equilibrium Temperature: How the Atmosphere/Interior Connection Affects the Onset of Methane, Ammonia, and Clouds in Warm Transiting Giant Planets
• Aerosols in Exoplanet Atmospheres
• Spitzer Variability Properties of Low-Gravity L Dwarfs
• Atmospheric variability driven by radiative cloud feedback in brown dwarfs and directly imaged extrasolar giant planets
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• Direct detectability of tidally heated exomoons by photometric orbital modulation
• Mapping atmospheric features of the planetary-mass brown dwarf SIMP 0136 with JWST NIRISS
• Next-generation Exo-REM atmospheric models: application to VHS 1256 b to emulate patchy clouds