Optical linear polarization in ultra cool dwarfs. A tool to probe dust in the ultra cool dwarf atmospheres

Tata, R.; Martín, E. L.; Sengupta, S.; Phan-Bao, N.; Zapatero Osorio, M. R.; Bouy, H.
Bibliographical reference

Astronomy and Astrophysics, Volume 508, Issue 3, 2009, pp.1423-1427

Advertised on:
12
2009
Number of authors
6
IAC number of authors
3
Citations
22
Refereed citations
20
Description
Aims. Recent studies have detected linear polarization in L dwarfs in the optical I band. Theoretical models have been developed to explain this polarization. These models predict higher polarization at shorter wavelengths. We discuss the polarization in the R and I band of 4 ultra cool dwarfs. Methods: We report linear polarization measurements of 4 ultra cool dwarfs in the R and I bands using the Intermediate dispersion Spectrograph and Imaging System (ISIS) mounted on the 4.2 m William Herschel Telescope (WHT). Results: As predicted by theoretical models, we find a higher degree of polarization in the R band when compared to polarization in the I band for 3/4 of these ultra cool dwarfs. This suggests that dust scattering asymmetry is caused by oblateness . We also show how these measurements fit the theoretical models. A case for variability of linear polarization is found, which suggests the presence of randomly distributed dust clouds. We also discuss one case for the presence of a cold debris disk.