JWST studies of Brown Dwarf Variability

Funder	Science and Technology Facilities Council
Recipient Organization	University of Sheffield
Country	United Kingdom
Start Date	Sep 30, 2023
End Date	Mar 30, 2027
Duration	1,277 days
Number of Grantees	2
Roles	Student; Supervisor
Data Source	UKRI Gateway to Research
Grant ID	`2887464`

Grant Description

Brown dwarfs are objects in the mass gap between stars and planets.

Lacking the contaminating light from a host star, observations of brown dwarfs can provide insight into what to expect from future observations of massive, Jupiter-like exoplanets.

One curious feature of brown dwarfs is their changing brightness, which is thought to be caused by changing patterns of clouds in their atmospheres or - in some instances - the presence of powerful analogs of Jupiter's aurorae.

In this PhD you will use data from the James Webb Space Telescope to study the variability of a nearby brown dwarf, providing our best look yet at this puzzling phenomenon.