The spectra of low-temperature atmospheres: Lessons learned from brown dwarfs

Indirect and direct spectroscopic studies of exoplanets are beginning to probe the most prominent chemical constituents and processes in their atmospheres. However, studies of equivalently low-temperature brown dwarfs have been taking place for over a decade. In this review, I summarize some of the results of detailed spectroscopic, photometric and polarimetric studies of brown dwarfs of various effective temperatures, surface gravities and metallicities, highlighting the insight gained into the chemistry and cloud formation of planetary-like atmospheres. Nonequilibrium chemistry and variations in cloud properties are singled out as critical ingredients for interpreting exoplanet spectra. I also discuss recent direct spectroscopic studies of exoplanet atmospheres, both close to and widely-separated from their host star, and propose that the latter are better analogs to isolated brown dwarfs.