2001/06/25 by D. C. Stephens, Denise C. Stephens, M. S. Marley +5 · 3 citations
Physics and Astronomy · #Astronomy and Astrophysical Research #Astrophysics and Star Formation Studies #Stellar, planetary, and galactic studies #astro-ph
paper · pdf · doi:10.1086/322938
Paper to be published in ApJL, 15 pages, 3 figures
arxiv created 2001/06/25 · openalex publication_date 2001/08/01 · arxiv updated 2009/12/01 · openalex created_date 2019/06/27 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/01
We present K - and L -band photometry obtained with the Keck I telescope for a representative sample of L and T dwarfs. These observations were motivated in part by the dominant role H 2 O and CH 4 play in shaping the flux near 2 and 3 μm and by the potential use of these bands as indicators of spectral class in the infrared. In addition, these observations aid the determination of the bolometric luminosity of L and T dwarfs. Here we report the K , L ', and L s magnitudes of our objects and the trends observed in the ( K - L ') and ( K - L s ) colors as a function of L and T dwarf spectral class. We compare these colors with theoretical models, derive a relationship between effective temperature and L spectral class, and compare our temperature estimates with others.