1996/07/01 by R. Rebolo, R. Rébolo, E. L. Martin +6 · 6 citations
Physics and Astronomy · #Astro and Planetary Science #Astrophysics and Star Formation Studies #Stellar, planetary, and galactic studies #astro-ph
paper · pdf · doi:10.1086/310263
14 pages gzipped and uuencoded. Figures are included. Also available at http://www.iac.es/. Accepted for publication in ApJ Letters
arxiv created 1996/07/01 · openalex publication_date 1996/09/20 · arxiv updated 2009/12/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/01
We present Keck Observatory 10 m telescope spectra of the two Pleiades brown dwarfs, Teide 1 and Calar 3, showing a clear detection of the Li 670.8 nm resonance line. In Teide 1, we have also obtained evidence for the presence of the subordinate line at 812.6 nm. A high Li abundance [log N (Li) ≥ 2.5], consistent with little if any depletion, is inferred from the observed lines. Since Pleiades brown dwarfs are unable to burn Li, the significant preservation of this fragile element confirms the substellar nature of our two objects. Regardless of their age, their low luminosities and Li content place Teide 1 and Calar 3 comfortably in the genuine brown dwarf realm. Given the probable age of the Pleiades cluster, their masses are estimated at 55 ± 15 M J .