NIRSPEC brown dwarf spectroscopic survey

Mavourneen K. Wilcox; Ian S. McLean; Eric E. Becklin; Donald Frank Figer; Andrea M. Gilbert; James R. Graham; James E. Larkin; N. A. Levenson; Harry I. Teplitz; J. Davy Kirkpatrick; Adam J. Burgasser

doi:10.1117/12.390148

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29 June 2000 NIRSPEC brown dwarf spectroscopic survey

Mavourneen K. Wilcox, Ian S. McLean, Eric E. Becklin, Donald Frank Figer, Andrea M. Gilbert, James R. Graham, James E. Larkin, N. A. Levenson, Harry I. Teplitz, J. Davy Kirkpatrick, Adam J. Burgasser

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Proceedings Volume 4005, Discoveries and Research Prospects from 8- to 10-Meter-Class Telescopes; (2000) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.390148
Event: Astronomical Telescopes and Instrumentation, 2000, Munich, Germany

Abstract

The NIRSPEC Brown Dwarf Spectroscopic Survey is a project to obtain a consistent set of high-quality near-IR spectra for each spectral class and sub-class of low-mass and/or sub- stellar objects to provide a new data base for models of the atmosphere of brown dwarfs and extra-solar giant planets. Most of the current targets are L-dwarfs and T-dwarfs discovered by the 2MASS. The survey is begin performed with the recently-commissioned near-IR spectrometer, NIRSPEC, a 1-5 micrometers cryogenic spectrograph at the WM Keck Observatory on Mauna Kea, using resolving powers of R equals 2,500-25,000. Preliminary results for four sources, three L-dwarfs and one T-dwarf, are presented here. Spectra from 1.13-2.33 micrometers at an average resolution of R equals 2,500 illustrate the development of deep steam bands and the weakening of FeH through the L-sequence, and the emergence of methane bands in the T-dwarfs. Complex detail in the spectra are the result of blending of numerous unresolved molecular transitions.

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Mavourneen K. Wilcox, Ian S. McLean, Eric E. Becklin, Donald Frank Figer, Andrea M. Gilbert, James R. Graham, James E. Larkin, N. A. Levenson, Harry I. Teplitz, J. Davy Kirkpatrick, and Adam J. Burgasser "NIRSPEC brown dwarf spectroscopic survey", Proc. SPIE 4005, Discoveries and Research Prospects from 8- to 10-Meter-Class Telescopes, (29 June 2000); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.390148

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