$Extrasolar~Storms$: Pressure-dependent Changes In Light Curve Phase In Brown Dwarfs From Simultaneous $Hubble$ and $Spitzer$ Observations

TL;DR

This study uses simultaneous space-based observations of brown dwarfs across multiple wavelengths to analyze pressure-dependent atmospheric variations and cloud layer effects over rotation periods.

Contribution

It provides the first multi-wavelength, pressure-sensitive light curve analysis of brown dwarfs, revealing phase shifts linked to different atmospheric layers.

Findings

Higher pressure layers show similar, in-phase light curves.

Lower pressure layers often have different phase shifts.

Phase differences suggest multiple cloud layers influence atmospheric variability.

Abstract

We present $Spitzer$/IRAC Ch1 and Ch2 monitoring of six brown dwarfs during 8 different epochs over the course of 20 months. For four brown dwarfs, we also obtained simulataneous $HST$/WFC3 G141 Grism spectra during two epochs and derived light curves in five narrow-band filters. Probing different pressure levels in the atmospheres, the multi-wavelength light curves of our six targets all exhibit variations, and the shape of the light curves evolves over the timescale of a rotation period, ranging from 1.4 h to 13 h. We compare the shapes of the light curves and estimate the phase shifts between the light curves observed at different wavelengths by comparing the phase of the primary Fourier components. We use state-of-the-art atmosphere models to determine the flux contribution of different pressure layers to the observed flux in each filter. We find that the light curves that probe higher pressures are similar and in phase, but are offset and often different from the light curves that probe lower pressures. The phase differences between the two groups of light curves suggest that the modulations seen at lower and higher pressures may be introduced by different cloud layers.