Fast-evolving weather for the coolest of our two new substellar neighbours

Michael Gillon, A.~H.~M.~J. Triaud, E. Jehin, L. Delrez, C. Opitom, P. Magain, M. Lendl, D. Queloz

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73 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

We present the results of intense photometric monitoring in the near-infrared (0.9 $m) with the TRAPPIST robotic telescope of the newly discovered binary brown dwarf WISE J104915.57-531906.1, the third closest system to the Sun at a distance of only 2 pc. Our twelve nights of time-series photometry reveal a quasi-periodic (P = 4.87 plusmn 0.01h) variability with a maximum peak-peak amplitude of 11% and strong night-to-night evolution. We attribute this variability to the rotational modulation of fast-evolving weather patterns in the atmosphere of the coolest component (T1-type) of the binary. No periodic signal is detected for the hottest component (L8-type). For both brown dwarfs, our data allow us to firmly discard any unique transit during our observations for planets ge2 R$_⊕$. For orbital periods smaller than 9.5 h, transiting planets are excluded down to an Earth-size.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)L5
JournalAstronomy and Astrophysics
Volume555
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1 Jul 2013

Keywords

  • brown dwarfs, stars: individual: WISE-J104915.57-531906.1, solar neighborhood, techniques: photometric

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