Emission lines in the atmosphere of the irradiated brown dwarf WD0137-349B

TL;DR

This study observes emission lines from a brown dwarf in a close binary system, revealing metal emissions caused by irradiation and insights into heat redistribution and atmospheric composition.

Contribution

First detection of metal emission lines in a brown dwarf atmosphere due to irradiation, with modeling of system dynamics and atmospheric chemistry.

Findings

Metal emission lines confirmed in brown dwarf atmosphere

Significant day-night variation in emission line strength

Estimated mass ratio of the binary system is 0.135

Abstract

We present new optical and near-infrared spectra of WD0137-349; a close white dwarf - brown dwarf non-interacting binary system with a period of $\approx$114 minutes. We have confirmed the presence of H$\alpha$ emission and discovered He, Na, Mg, Si, K, Ca, Ti, and Fe emission lines originating from the brown dwarf atmosphere. This is the first brown dwarf atmosphere to have been observed to exhibit metal emission lines as a direct result of intense irradiation. The equivalent widths of many of these lines show a significant difference between the day and night sides of the brown dwarf. This is likely an indication that efficient heat redistribution may not be happening on this object, in agreement with models of hot Jupiter atmospheres. The H$\alpha$ line strength variation shows a strong phase dependency as does the width. We have simulated the Ca II emission lines using a model that includes the brown dwarf Roche geometry and limb darkening and we estimate the mass ratio of the system to be 0.135$\pm$0.004. We also apply a gas-phase equilibrium code using a prescribed drift-phoenix model to examine how the chemical composition of the brown dwarf upper atmosphere would change given an outward temperature increase, and discuss the possibility that this would induce a chromosphere above the brown dwarf atmosphere.