Unified Cloudy Models of L and T Dwarfs - Physical Basis of the Spectral Classification in the Substellar Regime

Abstract

Based on a simple thermodynamical argument, we proposed a unified cloudy model (UCM) with a warm dust cloud deep in the photosphere. We showed, for the first time, that a single grid of model photospheres (Teff between 800 and 2600K) offers a natural explanation not only for the division of dwarfs cooler than M into the two distinct types L and T but also for the changes of the spectra and colors along the L -- T spectral sequence. Based on our model analysis of the observed IR colors, we propose an effective temperature scale and compare it with the empirical one. For detailed analyses of the spectra, the chemical composition is an important basic stellar parameter besides Teff, and the observed infrared spectrum of the L dwarf prototype GD165B can finally be fitted with the predicted one based on our UCM being updated with the use of the new solar carbon and oxygen abundances. We confirm that our UCMs provide consistent interpretation of the spectra and colors of L and T dwarfs, and thus will provide the physical basis for the spectral classification of the dwarfs cooler than M extending to the substellar regime.