Resonance Doublet Research Articles

The GAPS programme at TNG. LXVI. A homogeneous search for Na I and its possible variability in ten gas giant exoplanets

The neutral sodium resonance doublet ( Na I D) has been detected in the upper atmosphere of several close-in gas giants, through high-resolution transmission spectroscopy. We aim to investigate whether its variability is linked to the planets' properties, the data quality, or the accuracy of the system parameters used. Using the public code SLOPpy we extracted the transmission spectrum in the Na I D region of ten gas giants for which a large number of HARPS-N observations are available. We modelled the absorption signals found, performing an MCMC analysis, and converted the measured absorption depth to the corresponding atmospheric height over which most sodium absorption occurs. While two targets (GJ 436 b and KELT-7 b) show no Na I D feature, we found variability in the transmission spectrum of the other targets. Three of them (HD 209458 b, WASP-80 b, and WASP-127 b) present absorption on only some nights, while in the other five targets (HD 189733 b, KELT-9 b, KELT-20 b, WASP-69 b, and WASP-76 b), a significant absorption signal is present on most of the nights analysed. Except for WASP-69 b, the measured absorption depths lead to a ratio of the two Na I D depths that is compatible with or slightly larger than one. As was expected from literature, the relative atmospheric height follows an empirical exponential trend as a function of a scaled product of the planet's equilibrium temperature and surface gravity. We confirm the sodium detection on HD 189733 b, KELT-9 b, KELT-20 b, WASP-69 b, and WASP-76 b. The signal detected in WASP-127 b requires further observations for definitive confirmation. We exclude a planetary origin for the signals found on HD 209458 b and WASP-80 b. The sodium absorption variability does not appear to be related to planetary properties, but rather to data quality, sub-optimal data treatment, or stellar activity.

Collisional broadening and pressure shift coefficients for the potassium D1 and D2 transitions in oxygen and carbon dioxide at high temperatures

Collisional broadening and pressure shift parameters for the potassium resonance doublet, near 770 nm, are reported for collisions with molecular oxygen and carbon dioxide. Experiments were conducted in a reflected shock tube from 1200–2200 K and used potassium chloride (KCl) salt as the atomic potassium source. The measured absorption lineshapes were fit with Voigt profiles to infer the collisional broadening and pressure shifts. Power-law correlations were then developed to describe the pressure-normalized results as functions of temperature. Generally, the collisional broadening coefficients in oxygen agree well with theoretical predictions and are similar to those in nitrogen. Conversely, the pressure shift coefficients in oxygen differ from those in nitrogen by up to 15%. Broadening coefficients in carbon dioxide disagree with theoretical predictions by 20% or more over the range of temperatures explored in this work. These results expand the existing database of potassium lineshape coefficients, and they are expected to be useful for further development of potassium sensing diagnostics in terrestrial, Martian, and Venusian atmospheric flight studies, and in combustion systems. Other anticipated applications include interpretation of astrophysical spectroscopic observations.

Discovery of a damped Ly α absorber in the circumnuclear zone of the FeLoBAL quasar SDSS J083942.11+380526.3

ABSTRACT SDSS J083942.11+380526.3 ($z=2.315$) is an iron low-ionization broad absorption lines quasar that exhibits visible Balmer absorption lines (H $\alpha$), implying a significant $n=2$ population. The quasar also shows an array of absorption lines, including O i, Ni ii, Fe ii, Mg ii, Al iii to C iv, and N v. The high-ionization absorption lines such as C iv and Si iv are revealed by slightly blueshifted broad absorption lines troughs. The resonance doublets such as Mg ii and Al iii are saturated but did not reached zero intensity which indicates that the broad-line region (BLR) is partially covered. Overall, however, the absorption is predominantly from low-ionization Fe ii lines, emitted from ground and excited states up to at least 3.814 eV. This implies that the absorbing gas spans the hydrogen ionization front and extends into the partially ionized zone where neutral hydrogen is certainly present. Notably, the hydrogen line spectrum of the quasar shows no signature of expected Ly $\alpha$ absorption. Instead, the line spectrum shows an unusual Ly $\alpha$ emission characterized by a fully filled emission line spectrum which is a composite of a strong narrow core superposed on a weak broad base. Taking into account the effect of partial covering to BLR, we have extracted a strong Damped Ly α systems (DLA) trough in Ly $\alpha$ emission region. To fit the spectrum, we performed photoionized model calculations and compared them to the observations. We found that photoionization modelling using cloudy can successfully reproduce the main characteristics of the quasar spectrum, and the predicted neutral hydrogen column density arising from the clouds responsible for the low-ionization absorption provides a good match to the extracted DLA trough. This indicates that both the DLA and the low-ionization absorption arise from the same medium that is roughly collocated with the dusty torus.

Probing cold gas with Mg ii and Ly α radiative transfer

ABSTRACT The Mg ii resonance doublet at 2796 Å and 2803 Å is an increasingly important tool to study cold, $T \sim 10^{4}\,$ K, gas – an observational-driven development requiring theoretical support. We develop a new Monte Carlo radiative transfer code to systematically study the joined Mg ii and Ly α escape through homogeneous and ‘clumpy’ multiphase gas with dust in arbitrary three-dimensional geometries. Our main findings are (i) the Mg ii spectrum differs from Ly α due to the large difference in column densities, even though the atomic physics of the two lines are similar. (ii) The Mg ii escape fraction is generally higher than that of Ly α because of lower dust optical depths and path lengths – but large variations due to differences in dust models and the clumpiness of the cold medium exist. (iii) Clumpy media possess a ‘critical covering factor’ above which Mg ii radiative transfer matches a homogeneous medium. The critical covering factors for Mg ii and Ly α differ, allowing constraints on the cold gas structure. (iv) The Mg ii doublet ratio $R_{\rm MgII}$ varies for strong outflows/inflows ($\gtrsim 700 \,\mathrm{km\, s}^{-1}$), in particular, $R_{\rm MgII}\lt 1$ being an unambiguous tracer for powerful galactic winds. (v) Scattering of stellar continuum photons can decrease $R_{\rm MgII}$ from two to one, allowing constraints on the scattering medium. Notably, we introduce a novel probe of the cold gas column density – the halo doublet ratio – which we show to be a powerful indicator of ionizing photon escape. We discuss our results in the context of interpreting and modelling observations as well as their implications for other resonant doublets.

Optical properties of Y dwarfs observed with the Gran Telescopio Canarias

Our science goals are to characterise the optical properties of Y dwarfs and to study their consistency with theoretical models. A sample of five Y dwarfs was observed with three optical and near-infrared instruments at the 10.4\,m Gran Telescopio Canarias. Deep near-infrared ($J$- or $H$-band) and multicolour optical images ($z$-, $i$-, $r$-, $g$-, $u$-bands) of the five targets and a low-resolution far-red optical spectrum for one of the targets were obtained. One of the Y dwarfs, WISE J173835.53+273258.9 (Y0), was clearly detected in the optical ($z$- and $i$-bands) and another, WISE J182831.08+265037.7 (Y2), was detected only in the $z$-band. We measured the colours of our targets and found that the $z-J$ and $i-z$ colours of the Y dwarfs are bluer than those of mid- and late-T dwarfs. This optical blueing has been predicted by models, but our data indicates that it is sharper and happens at temperatures about 150 K warmer than expected. The culprit is the K I resonance doublet, which weakens more abruptly in the T- to Y-type transition than expected. Moreover, we show that the alkali resonance lines (Cs I and K I) are weaker in Y dwarfs than in T dwarfs; the far-red optical spectrum of WISE J173835.53+273258.9 is similar to that of late-T dwarfs, but with stronger methane and water features; and we noted the appearance of new absorption features that we propose could be due to hydrogen sulphide. Last but not least, in 2014, WISE J173835.53+273258.9 presented a bluer $i-z$ colour than in 2021 by a factor of 2.8 (significance of 2.5sigma ). Thanks to our deep optical images, we found that the 2014 $i$-band spectrum was contaminated by a galaxy bluer than the Y dwarf. The optical properties of Y dwarfs presented here pose new challenges to the modelling of grain sedimentation in extremely cool objects. The weakening of the very broad K I resonance doublet due to condensation in dust grains is more abrupt than theoretically anticipated. Consequently, the observed blueing of the $z-J$ and $i-z$ colours of Y dwarfs with respect to T dwarfs is more pronounced than predicted by models and could boost the potential of upcoming deep large-area optical surveys regarding their ability to detect extremely cool objects.

A dynamic view of V Hydrae

Context. The well studied carbon star V Hydrae is known to exhibit a complex asymmetric environment made of a dense equatorial wind and high-velocity outflows, hinting at its transition from the AGB phase to the asymmetric planetary nebula phase. In addition, V Hydrae also exhibits a long secondary period of 17 yr in its light curve, suggesting the presence of a binary companion that could shape the circumstellar environment. Aims. In this paper, we aim to confirm the binary nature of V Hydrae by deriving its orbital parameters and investigating the effect of the orbital motion on the circumbinary environment. Methods. In a first step, we used a radial-velocity monitoring performed with the HERMES spectrograph to disentangle the pulsation signal of the AGB from its orbital motion and to obtain the spectroscopic orbit. We combined the spectroscopic results with astrometric information to get the complete set of orbital parameters, including the system inclination. Next, we reported the time variations of the sodium and potassium resonance doublets. Finally, following the methods used for post-AGB stars, we carried out spatio-kinematic modelling of a conical jet to reproduce the observed spectral-line modulation. Results. We found the orbital solution of V Hydrae for a period of 17 yr. We correlated the companion passage across the line of sight with the obscuration event and the blue-shifted absorption of alkaline resonant lines. Those variations were modelled by a conical jet emitted from the companion, whose opening angle is wide and whose sky-projected orientation is found to be consistent with the axis of the large-scale bipolar outflow previously detected in the radio-emission lines of CO. Conclusions. We show that the periodic variation seen for V Hydrae is likely to be due to orbital motion. The presence of a conical jet offers a coherent model to explain the various features of V Hydrae environment.

Early Release Science of the exoplanet WASP-39b with JWST NIRISS

The Saturn-mass exoplanet WASP-39b has been the subject of extensive efforts to determine its atmospheric properties using transmission spectroscopy1–4. However, these efforts have been hampered by modelling degeneracies between composition and cloud properties that are caused by limited data quality5–9. Here we present the transmission spectrum of WASP-39b obtained using the Single-Object Slitless Spectroscopy (SOSS) mode of the Near Infrared Imager and Slitless Spectrograph (NIRISS) instrument on the JWST. This spectrum spans 0.6–2.8 μm in wavelength and shows several water-absorption bands, the potassium resonance doublet and signatures of clouds. The precision and broad wavelength coverage of NIRISS/SOSS allows us to break model degeneracies between cloud properties and the atmospheric composition of WASP-39b, favouring a heavy-element enhancement (‘metallicity’) of about 10–30 times the solar value, a sub-solar carbon-to-oxygen (C/O) ratio and a solar-to-super-solar potassium-to-oxygen (K/O) ratio. The observations are also best explained by wavelength-dependent, non-grey clouds with inhomogeneous coverageof the planet’s terminator.

On the lithium abundance of the visual binary components ξ Boo A (G8V) and ξ Boo B (K5V)

AbstractA spectroscopic investigation of the lithium resonance doublet in ξ Boo A and ξ Boo B in terms of both abundance and isotopic ratio is presented. We obtained new R = 130,000 spectra with a signal‐to‐noise ratio (S/N) per pixel of up to 3200 using the 11.8 m LBT and PEPSI. From fits with synthetic line profiles based on 1D‐LTE MARCS model atmospheres and 3D‐NLTE corrections, we determine the abundances of both isotopes. For ξ Boo A, we find A(Li) = 2.40 ± 0.03 dex and 6Li/7Li <1.5 ± 1.0% in 1D‐LTE, which increases to ≈2.45 for the 3D‐NLTE case. For ξ Boo B we obtain A(Li) = 0.37 ± 0.09 dex in 1D‐LTE with an unspecified 6Li/7Li level. Therefore, no 6Li is seen on any of the two stars. We consider a spot model for the Li fit for ξ Boo B and find A(Li) = 0.45 ± 0.09 dex. The 7Li abundance is 23 times higher for ξ Boo A than the Sun's, but three times lower than the Sun's for ξ Boo B while both fit the trend of single stars in the similar‐aged M35 open cluster. Effective temperatures are redetermined from the TiO band head strength. We note that the best‐fit global metallicities are −0.13 ± 0.01 dex for ξ Boo A but +0.13 ± 0.02 dex for ξ Boo B. Lithium abundance for the K5V benchmark star 61 Cyg A was obtained to A(Li) ≈ 0.53 dex when including a spot model but to ≈0.15 dex without a spot model.

Vibrational excitation in the e+CO2 system: Nonlocal model of ΣΠ vibronic coupling through the continuum

In this article, the authors present a theoretical model for vibrational excitation of CO${}_{2}$, where the virtual state and shape resonance doublet interact directly with each other and also indirectly through the electronic continuum as the molecule bends. Based on $a\phantom{\rule{0}{0ex}}b$ $i\phantom{\rule{0}{0ex}}n\phantom{\rule{0}{0ex}}i\phantom{\rule{0}{0ex}}t\phantom{\rule{0}{0ex}}i\phantom{\rule{0}{0ex}}o$ fixed-nuclei $R$-matrix calculations, parameters of the model are determined using a fitting procedure that utilizes the high symmetry of the system.''

Collisional broadening and pressure shift of the potassium resonance doublets by nitrogen, helium, and hydrogen at high temperatures

This paper presents measurements of collisional broadening and pressure shift parameters for the potassium D1 and D2 transitions near 0.77 μm with the collisional partners of molecular nitrogen, helium, and molecular hydrogen. Experiments were conducted in a shock tube at temperatures from 1100 K up to 1900 K, using tunable diode laser absorption spectroscopy and KCl salts as precursors of atomic potassium. In many of the experiments, the target gas was blended with argon to increase the ratio of the driver to driven gas speed of sound. This approach was employed to generate strong incident and reflected shock waves with sufficient temperature rises to produce optimal potassium concentrations (1–10 ppb) in the test gas for high signal-to-noise ratio absorption line shape measurements. The well-resolved absorption line shapes were modeled as Voigt profiles and a least-squares fitting algorithm yielded multiple variables, including the potassium concentration, the collisional full half-widths, and the pressure-induced shifts. Any broadening and shift contributions from the argon dilution were subtracted from the measurements using previous correlations. The pressure-normalized results, i.e., collisional broadening coefficients and pressure shift coefficients, are presented as temperature-dependent power-law relations for the species of interest. The helium and hydrogen results show good agreement with lower-temperature experimental data within 15–20%, and high-temperature theoretical predictions within 10–30%. However, larger discrepancies are observed between the nitrogen results and existing low-temperature experimental data and simplified impact theory predictions. These results may suggest that a more detailed model for the nitrogen collisional broadening of potassium is warranted. The presented correlations may also be useful for the development of potassium-based sensing methods with application to combustion, hypersonics, and astrophysics.

Investigation of the upper atmosphere in ultra-hot Jupiter WASP-76 b with high-resolution spectroscopy

Abstract Alkali metal lines are one of the most important key opacity sources for understanding exoplanetary atmospheres because the Na i resonance doublets are thought to be the cause of low albedo, as the alkali metal’s wide line wings absorb almost all of the incoming stellar irradiation. High-resolution transmission spectroscopy of Na absorption lines can be used to investigate the temperature of the thermosphere of hot Jupiters, which is increased by stellar X-ray and extreme-ultraviolet irradiation. We applied high-resolution transmission spectroscopy to the ultra-hot Jupiter WASP-76 b with the High Dispersion Spectrograph (HDS) on the Subaru 8.2 m telescope. We report the detection of strong Na D excess absorption with line contrasts of $0.42 \pm 0.03\%$ (D1 at 5895.92 Å) and $0.38\pm 0.04\%$ (D2 at 5889.95 Å), full width at half maximum values of 1.63 ± 0.13 Å (D1) and 1.87 ± 0.22 Å (D2), and equivalent widths of (7.29 ± 1.43) × 10−3 Å (D1) and (7.56 ± 2.38) × 10−3 Å (D2). These results show that the Na D absorption lines are shallower and broader than those in previous work, whereas the absorption signals over the same passband are consistent with those in previous work. We derive the best-fitting isothermal temperature of 3700 K (without rotation) and 4200 K (with rotation). These results suggest the possibility of the existence of a thermosphere because the derived atmospheric temperature is higher than the equilibrium temperature (∼2160 K).

A study of many-year spectral variability of the Ae Herbig star HD 36112

We present the results of long-term high-dispersion spectral observations (R = 20000) of the Ae Herbig star HD 36112 in the regions of the Ha emission line and the NaI D resonance doublet lines. They show that parameters of the Ha emission line demonstrate complicated variability on several time scales: 1) variability from night to night caused by inhomogeneity of the circumstellar envelope; 2) variability on a time scale of about 1200d characterized by a variation of the equivalent width, intensity, and other emission parameters; 3) variability on a time scale of more than 4000d observed as a many-year trend in variations of parameters of the Ha emission line.
 We associate these results with variability of physical and kinematic conditions in the inner regions of the accretion disk and wind. The most probable mechanism of this variability is a process of planet formation in the circumstellar disk.

New constraints on the minimum mass for thermonuclear lithium burning in brown dwarfs

ABSTRACT The theory of substellar evolution predicts that there is a sharp mass boundary between lithium and non-lithium brown dwarfs, not far below the substellar-mass limit. The imprint of thermonuclear burning is carved on the surface lithium abundance of substellar-mass objects during the first few hundred million years of their evolution, leading to a sharp boundary between lithium and non-lithium brown dwarfs, so-called, the lithium test. The theoretical predictions can be tested by comparing with observations of lithium in the individual components of binaries with dynamical masses measured from orbital motions. New optical spectroscopic observations of the binaries DENIS J063001.4−184014AB and DENIS J225210.7−173013AB obtained using the 10.4-m Gran Telescopio de Canarias are reported here. They allow us to re-determine their combined optical spectral types (M9.5 and L6.5, respectively) and to search for the presence of the Li i resonance doublet. The non-detection of the Li i feature in the combined spectrum of DENIS J063001.4−184014AB is converted into estimates for the depletion of lithium in the individual components of this binary system. In DENIS J225210.7−173013AB, we report the detection of a weak Li i feature which we tentatively ascribe as arising from the contribution of the T3.5-type secondary. Combining our results with data for seven other brown dwarf binaries in the literature treated in a self-consistent way, we confirm that there is indeed a sharp transition in mass for lithium depletion in brown dwarfs, as expected from theoretical calculations. We estimate such mass boundary is observationally located at 51.48$^{+0.22}_{-4.00}\, M_\mathrm{Jup}$, which is lower than the theoretical determinations.

Satellite Transition of the Resonance Doublet of the Na Atom in a Mixture with CF4

Satellite Transition of the Resonance Doublet of the Na Atom in a Mixture with CF4

Исследование многолетней спектральной переменности Ae звезды Хербига HD 36112

Представлены результаты многолетних высокодисперсионных спектральных наблюдений (R = 20000) Ае звезды Хербига HD 36112 в области эмиссионных линий Hα и резонансного дублета NaI D. Показано, что параметры эмиссионной линии Hα демонстрируют сложную переменность на нескольких временных шкалах: 1) переменность от ночи к ночи, обусловленную неоднородной структурой околозвездной газовой оболочки; 2) переменность на шкале времени около 1200 суток, характеризующуюся изменением эквивалентной ширины, интенсивности, а также других параметров эмиссии; 3) переменность на шкале времени более 4000 суток, наблюдаемую как многолетний тренд в изменении параметров эмиссионной линии Hα.Мы связываем полученные результаты с изменением физических и кинематических условий во внутренних областях аккреционного диска и ветра. Наиболее вероятным механизмом таких изменений является активно идущий в околозвездном диске звезды процесс планетообразования.

Identification of young nearby runaway stars based on Gaia data and the lithium test†

AbstractYoung nearby runaway stars are suitable to search for their place of origin and possibly associated objects, for example, neutron stars. Tetzlaff et al. (2011) selected young (≤50 Myr) runaway star candidates from Hipparcos, for which they had estimated the ages from the location in the Hertzsprung‐Russell diagram and evolutionary models. Here, we redetermine or constrain their young ages more precisely, not only by using the new Gaia DR2 data but also by measuring lithium, which is a youth indicator. For 308 stars, we obtained spectra to search for the strong resonance doublet of the lithium‐7 isotope at 6708 Å. The spectra were obtained with the Échelle spectrograph FLECHAS at the University Observatory Jena between February 2015 and June 2018 and with TRES between April 2011 and June 2017 at the Fred L. Whipple Observatory. We found 208 stars with a significant occurrence of lithium in their spectra, and 5 possess a possible age that is younger than or about 50 Myr. Three of these targets are even closer than GJ 182, the nearest known runaway star at about 24 pc. These stars are young runaway stars suitable for further investigation of their origin from either a dynamical or supernova ejection.

TYC 8327-1678-1: a new super lithium-rich K giant

ABSTRACTIn this work, we show that TYC 8327-1678-1 is a low-mass red giant star with a super lithium abundance in its atmosphere. For this, we used high-resolution spectroscopy to determine atmospheric parameters, the chemical abundances of the light elements and the isotopic ratio 12C/13C using the spectral synthesis techniques and the equivalent width measurements. Also, we used theoretical evolutionary tracks to find out the mass and the evolutionary stage of TYC 8327-1678-1. The lithium abundance was determined using the Li i resonance doublet at 6708 Å and the subordinate line at 6104 Å that yielding a mean value of $\log \, \epsilon {\rm (Li)_{NLTE}}\, =\, 3.48$. The projected rotational velocity ($v\, \sin \, i$) has been determined using spectral synthesis based on the isolated Fe i lines. Our results show that TYC 8327-1678-1 has a mass of $M\, =\, 1.60$ $\pm \, 0.20\, {\rm M}_{\odot }$, a low rotational velocity ($v\, \sin \, i$ = 2.35 ± 0.24 km s−1) and metallicity of [Fe/H] = +0.23 ± 0.09. Finally, we discuss the possibility that TYC 8327-1678-1 became a lithium-rich star after a merging event involving a red giant and a helium white dwarf.

Fermi resonance: A new way to investigate the planarization of p-quaterphenyl under high pressure

High pressure Synchrony X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Raman measurement of p-quaterphenyl has been carried out up to 13 GPa. There is no first-order phase transition from the XRD measurement but there are noticeable changes induced by pressure in the structural and vibrational properties. By analysis the Raman intensity changes of I1280/I1220, the dihedral angle between phenyl rings is decreased to a constant value when the pressure increased to 4 GPa, while less information could be concluded on further compression. Fermi resonance doublets located at 1600 and 1610 cm−1 were analyzed which suggests p-quaterphenyl undergo another process of molecular planarization at 8 GPa, providing a new strategy to evaluate the coplanar characteristics in OPPs system.

Search for the sub-stellar lithium depletion boundary in the open star cluster Coma Berenices

Aims. We mainly aim to search for the lithium depletion boundary (LDB) among the sub-stellar population of the open star cluster Coma Berenices. Methods. Since the number of brown dwarf candidates in Coma Ber available in the literature is scarce, we carried out a search for additional candidates photometrically using colour–magnitude diagrams combining optical and infrared photometry from the latest public releases of the following large-scale surveys: the United Kingdom InfraRed Telescope Infrared Deep Sky Survey (UKIRT/UKIDSS), the Panoramic Survey Telescope and Rapid Response System (Pan-STARRS), the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS), and AllWISE. We checked astrometric consistency with cluster membership using Gaia DR2. A search for Li in three new and five previously known brown dwarf candidate cluster members was performed via spectroscopic observations using the OSIRIS instrument at the 10.4 m Gran Telescopio de Canarias (GTC). Results. A couple dozen new photometric candidate brown dwarfs located inside the tidal radius of Coma Ber are reported, but none of these are significantly fainter and cooler than previously known members. No LiI resonance doublet at 6707.8 Å was detected in any of eight Coma Ber targets in the magnitude range J = 15–19 and G = 20–23 observed with the GTC. Spectral types and radial velocities were derived from the GTC spectra. These values confirm the cluster membership of four L2–L2.5 dwarfs, two of which are new in the literature. Conclusions. The large Li depletion factors found among the four bona fide sub-stellar members in Coma Ber implies that the LDB must be located at spectral type later than L2.5 in this cluster. Using the latest evolutionary models for brown dwarfs, a lower limit of 550 Myr on the cluster age is set. This constraint has been combined with other dating methods to obtain an updated age estimate of 780 ± 230 Myr for the Coma Ber open cluster. Identification of significantly cooler sub-stellar cluster members in Coma Ber awaits the advent of the Euclid wide survey, which should reach a depth of about J = 23; this superb sensitivity will make it possible to determine the precise location of the sub-stellar LDB in this cluster and to carry out a complete census of its sub-stellar population.

A new set of atmosphere and evolution models for cool T–Y brown dwarfs and giant exoplanets

We present a new set of solar metallicity atmosphere and evolutionary models for very cool brown dwarfs and self-luminous giant exoplanets, which we term ATMO 2020. Atmosphere models are generated with our state-of-the-art 1D radiative-convective equilibrium code ATMO, and are used as surface boundary conditions to calculate the interior structure and evolution of 0.001–0.075 M⊙ objects. Our models include several key improvements to the input physics used in previous models available in the literature. Most notably, the use of a new H–He equation of state including ab initio quantum molecular dynamics calculations has raised the mass by ~1−2% at the stellar–substellar boundary and has altered the cooling tracks around the hydrogen and deuterium burning minimum masses. A second key improvement concerns updated molecular opacities in our atmosphere model ATMO, which now contains significantly more line transitions required to accurately capture the opacity in these hot atmospheres. This leads to warmer atmospheric temperature structures, further changing the cooling curves and predicted emission spectra of substellar objects. We present significant improvement for the treatment of the collisionally broadened potassium resonance doublet, and highlight the importance of these lines in shaping the red-optical and near-infrared spectrum of brown dwarfs. We generate three different grids of model simulations, one using equilibrium chemistry and two using non-equilibrium chemistry due to vertical mixing, all three computed self-consistently with the pressure-temperature structure of the atmosphere. We show the impact of vertical mixing on emission spectra and in colour-magnitude diagrams, highlighting how the 3.5−5.5 μm flux window can be used to calibrate vertical mixing in cool T–Y spectral type objects.