A Comparison of Near-Infrared Photometry and Spectra for Y Dwarfs with a New Generation of Cool Cloudy Models

TL;DR

This study compares near-infrared photometry and spectra of Y dwarfs with advanced cloud models, revealing insights into their atmospheric properties, temperatures, and potential binarity, and highlights areas for future model improvements.

Contribution

Introduces new photometric and spectroscopic data for Y dwarfs and evaluates models including sulfide and chloride clouds, advancing understanding of their atmospheres and properties.

Findings

Models with clouds reproduce Y dwarf energy distributions well

Vertical mixing affects spectral features and flux at 5um

Estimated Y dwarf temperatures range from 300 to 450 K

Abstract

We present YJHK photometry, or a subset, for the six Y dwarfs discovered in WISE data by Cushing et al.. The data were obtained using NIRI on the Gemini North telescope. We also present a far-red spectrum obtained using GMOS-North for WISEPC J205628.90+145953.3. We compare the data to Morley et al. (2012) models, which include cloud decks of sulfide and chloride condensates. We find that the models with these previously neglected clouds can reproduce the energy distributions of T9 to Y0 dwarfs quite well, other than near 5um where the models are too bright. This is thought to be because the models do not include departures from chemical equilibrium caused by vertical mixing, which would enhance the abundance of CO, decreasing the flux at 5um. Vertical mixing also decreases the abundance of NH_3, which would otherwise have strong absorption features at 1.03um and 1.52um that are not seen in the Y0 WISEPC J205628.90+145953.3. We find that the five Y0 to Y0.5 dwarfs have 300 < T_eff K < 450, 4.0 < log g < 4.5 and f_sed ~ 3. These temperatures and gravities imply a mass range of 5 - 15 M_Jupiter and ages around 5 Gyr. We suggest that WISEP J182831.08+265037.8 is a binary system, as this better explains its luminosity and color. We find that the data can be made consistent with observed trends, and generally consistent with the models, if the system is composed of a T_eff = 325 K and log g <~ 4.5 primary, and a T_eff = 300 K and log g >~ 4.0 secondary, corresponding to masses of 10 and 7 M_Jupiter and an age around 2 Gyr. If our deconvolution is correct, then the T_eff = 300 K cloud-free model fluxes at K and W2 are too faint by 0.5 - 1.0 magnitudes. We will address this discrepancy in our next generation of models, which will incorporate water clouds and mixing.