CLOUD STRUCTURE OF THE NEAREST BROWN DWARFS: SPECTROSCOPIC VARIABILITY OF LUHMAN 16AB FROM THE HUBBLE SPACE TELESCOPE

The binary brown dwarf WISE J104915.57-531906.1 (also Luhman 16AB), composed of a late-L and early-T dwarf, is a prototypical L/T transition flux reversal binary located at a distance of only 2 pc. Luhman 16B is a known variable whose light curves evolve rapidly. We present a spatially resolved spectroscopic time-series of Luhman 16A and B covering 6.5 hr using the Hubble Space Telescope/WFC3 at 1.1-1.66 [mu]m. A two-component cloud model accounts for most of the variability, although small deviations are seen in the water absorption band. We fit the mean spectrum and relative amplitudes with a linear combination of two models of a warm, thinner cloud and a cooler, thicker cloud, assuming out-of-equilibrium atmospheric chemistry. A model with parameters as for Luhman 16A except for the addition of cloud holes cannot reproduce the variability of Luhman 16B, indicating more complex cloud evolution through the L/T transition. The projected separation of the binary has decreased by [approximate] 0.3 in eight months.