2MASSJ035523.51+113337.4: A Young, Dusty, Nearby, Isolated Brown Dwarf Resembling A Giant Exoplanet

TL;DR

This paper characterizes the young, dusty brown dwarf 2MASSJ035523.51+113337.4, revealing its spectral and photometric properties, and suggests it shares characteristics with giant exoplanets and young planetary-mass objects.

Contribution

It provides detailed parallax, spectral, and photometric data for 2M0355, confirming its low gravity features and its similarity to planetary-mass objects, highlighting the effects of dust in young brown dwarfs.

Findings

2M0355 is the reddest isolated L dwarf with low gravity features.

Its spectrum resembles that of a 10 Myr planetary-mass object 2M1207b.

It exhibits a red spectral energy distribution due to enhanced photospheric dust.

Abstract

We present parallax and proper motion measurements, near-infrared spectra, and WISE photometry for the low surface gravity L5gamma dwarf 2MASSJ035523.37+113343.7 (2M0355). We use these data to evaluate photometric, spectral, and kinematic signatures of youth as 2M0355 is the reddest isolated L dwarf yet classified. We confirm its low-gravity spectral morphology and find a strong resemblance to the sharp triangular shaped $H$-band spectrum of the 10 Myr planetary-mass object 2M1207b. We find that 2M0355 is underluminous compared to a normal field L5 dwarf in the optical and MKO J,H, and K bands and transitions to being overluminous from 3-12 microns, indicating that enhanced photospheric dust shifts flux to longer wavelengths for young, low-gravity objects, creating a red spectral energy distribution. Investigating the near-infrared color magnitude diagram for brown dwarfs confirms that 2M0355 is redder and underluminous compared to the known brown dwarf population, similar to the peculiarities of directly imaged exoplanets 2M1207b and HR8799bcd. We calculate UVW space velocities and find that the motion of 2M0355 is consistent with young disk objects (< 2-3 Gyr) and it shows a high likelihood of membership in the AB Doradus association.