Detection of Hα Emission in a Methane (T Type) Brown Dwarf

doi:10.1086/301423

The Astronomical Journal

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Adam J. Burgasser et al. 2000 The Astronomical Journal 120 473 doi:10.1086/301423

Detection of Hα Emission in a Methane (T Type) Brown Dwarf

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Adam J. Burgasser¹, J. Davy Kirkpatrick², I. Neill Reid³, James Liebert⁴, John E. Gizis² and Michael E. Brown^5,6

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diver@its.caltech.edu davy@ipac.caltech.edu gizis@ipac.caltech.edu inr@herschel.physics.upenn.edu liebert@as.arizona.edu mbrown@gps.caltech.edu

¹ Division of Physics, MS 103-33, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125
² Infrared Processing and Analysis Center, MS 100-22, California Institute of Technology, 770 South Wilson Avenue, Pasadena, CA 91125
³ Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Pennsylvania, 209 South 33rd Street, Philadelphia, PA 19104-6396
⁴ Steward Observatory, University of Arizona, 933 North Cherry Avenue, Tucson, AZ 85721-0065
⁵ Division of Geological and Planetary Sciences, MS 105-21, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California 91125
⁶ Alfred P. Sloan Research Fellow

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Abstract References Cited By

We report the detection of Hα emission in the T dwarf (methane brown dwarf) 2MASSW J1237392+652615 over three days using the Keck Low Resolution Imaging Spectrograph. The measured line flux, log (L_Hα/L_bol) = -4.3, is roughly consistent with early M dwarf activity levels and inconsistent with decreasing activity trends in late M and L dwarfs. Similar emission is not seen in two other T dwarfs. We speculate on several mechanisms that may be responsible for emission, including a strong magnetic field, continuous flaring, acoustic heat generation, and a close [a ~ (4–20)R_J] interacting binary, with the cooler component overflowing its Roche lobe. We suggest that the M9.5 Ve PC 0025+0447 could be a warm analog to 2MASS J1237+65 and may be powered by the latter mechanism.

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