Science Colloquium
Two New Types of Brown Dwarfs
Florian Maisonneuve
Bishop's University
Thursday, November 24, 2005
11:45 - 12:45 PM
Johnson Room 20
The relatively recent discovery of many Brown Dwarfs in the solar neighborhood has given astronomers the necessary data with which they can analyze the properties of this new type of astronomical object. Because Brown Dwarfs are so cool, new spectral classes have had to be invented. Thus Brown Dwarfs are now classified according to whether they belong to the L or T spectral class.
I will discuss the spectral properties of Brown Dwarfs and summarize the characteristics and differences that allow us to distinguish between L and T-dwarfs. I will also discuss some of the discrepancies between theory and observation. The resolution of these discrepancies may lead to significant advances in our understanding of the evolution of these substellar objects.
