Abstract
A growing body of observational and theoretical evidence points toward the importance of clouds in the atmospheres of ultra-cool brown dwarfs and giant planets. Empirically, the presence of clouds is inferred from the red, likely dusty atmospheres of young substellar objects, and from detections of periodic variability in a fraction of brown dwarfs - as expected from rotation and a patchy cloud cover. Theoretical models have progressed alongside by including ever more comprehensive atomic and molecular opacity tables, incorporating the treatment of non-equilibrium chemistry and clouds through vertical mixing and grain size/sedimentation parameters, and employing 3-D hydrodynamical simulations. In this proceeding we summarize the key issues raised during the first gathering of observers and theorists to discuss clouds and atmospheric circulation in non-irradiated ultra-cool dwarfs and giant planets.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 40-43 |
| Number of pages | 4 |
| Journal | Astronomische Nachrichten |
| Volume | 334 |
| Issue number | 1-2 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - Feb 2013 |
| Externally published | Yes |
Keywords
- Stars: low-mass
- Brown dwarfs
- Stars: rotation
- Stars: variables: general
- Planetary systems