2025A&A...697L..10M -
Astronomy and Astrophysics, volume 697L10 (2025/5-1)
Detection of J-band photometric periodicity in the T8 dwarfs 2MASS J09393548-2448279 and EQ J1959-3338.
MILES-PAEZ P.A., METCHEV S., ZAPATERO OSORIO M.R. and MARTIN-CARRERO D.
Abstract (from CDS):
Aims. We aim to study the near-infrared variability of the T8 dwarfs 2MASS J09393548-2448279 and EQ J1959-3338 by analyzing their J-band photometric signal, which can provide new insights into the atmospheric dynamics of cold brown dwarfs.
Methods. We used FLAMINGOS-2 on the Gemini South telescope to perform J-band differential photometry continuously over 4 h for each target. The resulting light curves have a cadence of 20 s and a photometric uncertainty of 2-4 mmag.
Results. We detect periodic variability in both T8 dwarfs, with an amplitude of 16.6 ± 0.9 mmag and a period of 1.364 ± 0.012 h for EQ J1959-3338, which we attribute to rotational modulation. For 2MASS J09393548-2448279, we observe an amplitude of 4.6 ± 0.4 mmag and a period of 1.733 ± 0.040 h, though this periodicity could represent a fraction of a longer period.
Conclusions. With the detection of variability in 2MASS J09393548-2448279 and EQ J1959-3338, the number of known variable T8 dwarfs has doubled, making them prime candidates for infrared space-based monitoring and radio observations to investigate atmospheric dynamics and the influence of the magnetic field in very cool atmospheres.
Abstract Copyright:
© The Authors 2025
Journal keyword(s):
stars: atmospheres - brown dwarfs - stars: late-type - stars: low-mass - stars: rotation - solar neighborhood
Simbad objects:
7
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