Binaries or Variables? Disentangling the signatures of blended-light spectra
Abstract
Time-resolved photometry and spectroscopy of brown dwarfs has revealed variability in their atmospheres, caused by heterogeneous cloud coverage across different pressure levels in their photospheres. Characterizing the vertical structure of brown dwarf atmospheres and its temporal variability is an essential stepping stone towards understanding the atmospheric processes occurring in exoplanets. The spectral signatures arising from heterogeneous cloud coverage are similar to those caused by unresolved binarity from components with different spectral types in blended-light spectral binary systems. False positives in our search for spectral binaries have been identified as single, photometrically variable objects, yet currently there is no technique to identify variable objects without photometric monitoring. We present a status update on our optimization of the spectral binary technique to identify the statis signatures of single, photometrically variable objects from a single low-resolution, near-infrared spectrum.
- Publication:
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American Astronomical Society Meeting Abstracts #233
- Pub Date:
- January 2019
- Bibcode:
- 2019AAS...23325902B