A JWST Survey for Planetary Mass Brown Dwarfs in IC 348
We have obtained images of the center of the star-forming cluster IC 348 with the James Webb Space Telescope and have identified brown dwarf candidates based on their photometry and point-like flux profiles. Low-resolution spectroscopy has been performed on four promising candidates, three of which...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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IOP Publishing
2023-01-01
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| Series: | The Astronomical Journal |
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-3881/ad00b7 |
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| author | K. L. Luhman C. Alves de Oliveira I. Baraffe G. Chabrier T. R. Geballe R. J. Parker Y. J. Pendleton P. Tremblin |
| author_facet | K. L. Luhman C. Alves de Oliveira I. Baraffe G. Chabrier T. R. Geballe R. J. Parker Y. J. Pendleton P. Tremblin |
| author_sort | K. L. Luhman |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | We have obtained images of the center of the star-forming cluster IC 348 with the James Webb Space Telescope and have identified brown dwarf candidates based on their photometry and point-like flux profiles. Low-resolution spectroscopy has been performed on four promising candidates, three of which have molecular absorption bands that indicate late spectral types. Among those late-type objects, the brightest is similar to known young L dwarfs while the other two show the so-called 3.4 μ m feature that has been previously observed in the diffuse interstellar medium and in the atmospheres of Saturn and Titan, which has been attributed to an unidentified aliphatic hydrocarbon. Those two objects also exhibit features between 1.1 and 2.6 μ m that we identify as the overtone and combination bands for that hydrocarbon. After accounting for the hydrocarbon bands, the remaining spectral features are consistent with youth and inconsistent with field dwarfs. Based on the low extinctions of those objects and the strengths of the overtone and combination bands, we conclude that the hydrocarbon resides in their atmospheres rather than in foreground material. Thus, our detections of the 3.4 μ m feature are the first in atmospheres outside of the solar system. The presence of this hydrocarbon is not predicted by any atmospheric models of young brown dwarfs. Based on its luminosity and evolutionary models, the faintest new member of IC 348 has an estimated mass of 3–4 M _Jup , making it a strong contender for the least massive free-floating brown dwarf that has been directly imaged to date. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-08T22:00:58Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-4fd417aaee32400cad49500915545d37 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1538-3881 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-08T22:00:58Z |
| publishDate | 2023-01-01 |
| publisher | IOP Publishing |
| record_format | Article |
| series | The Astronomical Journal |
| spelling | doaj.art-4fd417aaee32400cad49500915545d372023-12-19T15:21:23ZengIOP PublishingThe Astronomical Journal1538-38812023-01-0116711910.3847/1538-3881/ad00b7A JWST Survey for Planetary Mass Brown Dwarfs in IC 348K. L. Luhman0https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2822-2951C. Alves de Oliveira1https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2896-4138I. Baraffe2https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8365-5982G. Chabrier3https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8342-9149T. R. Geballe4https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2824-3875R. J. Parker5https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1474-7848Y. J. Pendleton6https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8102-2903P. Tremblin7https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6172-3403Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics, The Pennsylvania State University , University Park, PA 16802, USA ; kll207@psu.edu; Center for Exoplanets and Habitable Worlds, The Pennsylvania State University , University Park, PA 16802, USAEuropean Space Agency , European Space Astronomy Centre, Camino Bajo del Castillo s/n, E-28692 Villanueva de la Cañada, Madrid, SpainPhysics & Astronomy Department, University of Exeter , Exeter EX4 4QL, UK; Ecole Normale Supérieure de Lyon , CRAL, CNRS UMR 5574, F-69364, Lyon Cedex 07, FrancePhysics & Astronomy Department, University of Exeter , Exeter EX4 4QL, UK; Ecole Normale Supérieure de Lyon , CRAL, CNRS UMR 5574, F-69364, Lyon Cedex 07, FranceGemini Observatory/NSF’s NOIRLab , 670 N. Aohoku Place, Hilo, HI 96720, USADepartment of Physics and Astronomy, The University of Sheffield , Hicks Building, Hounsfield Road, Sheffield S3 7RH, UKDepartment of Physics, University of Central Florida , Orlando, FL 32816, USAUniversité Paris-Saclay , UVSQ, CNRS, CEA, Maison de la Simulation, F-91191, Gif-sur-Yvette, FranceWe have obtained images of the center of the star-forming cluster IC 348 with the James Webb Space Telescope and have identified brown dwarf candidates based on their photometry and point-like flux profiles. Low-resolution spectroscopy has been performed on four promising candidates, three of which have molecular absorption bands that indicate late spectral types. Among those late-type objects, the brightest is similar to known young L dwarfs while the other two show the so-called 3.4 μ m feature that has been previously observed in the diffuse interstellar medium and in the atmospheres of Saturn and Titan, which has been attributed to an unidentified aliphatic hydrocarbon. Those two objects also exhibit features between 1.1 and 2.6 μ m that we identify as the overtone and combination bands for that hydrocarbon. After accounting for the hydrocarbon bands, the remaining spectral features are consistent with youth and inconsistent with field dwarfs. Based on the low extinctions of those objects and the strengths of the overtone and combination bands, we conclude that the hydrocarbon resides in their atmospheres rather than in foreground material. Thus, our detections of the 3.4 μ m feature are the first in atmospheres outside of the solar system. The presence of this hydrocarbon is not predicted by any atmospheric models of young brown dwarfs. Based on its luminosity and evolutionary models, the faintest new member of IC 348 has an estimated mass of 3–4 M _Jup , making it a strong contender for the least massive free-floating brown dwarf that has been directly imaged to date.https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-3881/ad00b7Brown dwarfsL dwarfsStar forming regionsInitial mass functionExoplanet atmospheresT dwarfs |
| spellingShingle | K. L. Luhman C. Alves de Oliveira I. Baraffe G. Chabrier T. R. Geballe R. J. Parker Y. J. Pendleton P. Tremblin A JWST Survey for Planetary Mass Brown Dwarfs in IC 348 The Astronomical Journal Brown dwarfs L dwarfs Star forming regions Initial mass function Exoplanet atmospheres T dwarfs |
| title | A JWST Survey for Planetary Mass Brown Dwarfs in IC 348 |
| title_full | A JWST Survey for Planetary Mass Brown Dwarfs in IC 348 |
| title_fullStr | A JWST Survey for Planetary Mass Brown Dwarfs in IC 348 |
| title_full_unstemmed | A JWST Survey for Planetary Mass Brown Dwarfs in IC 348 |
| title_short | A JWST Survey for Planetary Mass Brown Dwarfs in IC 348 |
| title_sort | jwst survey for planetary mass brown dwarfs in ic 348 |
| topic | Brown dwarfs L dwarfs Star forming regions Initial mass function Exoplanet atmospheres T dwarfs |
| url | https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-3881/ad00b7 |
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