  We present the first analysis of an optical to mid-infrared spectrum of the
T7.5 dwarf Gliese 570D with model atmospheres, synthetic spectra, and brown
dwarf evolution sequences. We obtain precise values for the basic parameters of
Gl 570D: Teff=800 - 820K, log g (cm/s^2)=5.09 - 5.23, and log L/Lsun= -5.525 to
-5.551. The Spitzer IRS spectrum shows prominent features of ammonia (NH3) that
can only be fitted by reducing the abundance of NH3 by about one order of
magnitude from the value obtained with chemical equilibrium models. We model
departures from chemical equilibrium in the atmosphere of Gl 570D by
considering the kinetics of nitrogen and carbon chemistry in the presence of
vertical mixing. The resulting model spectrum reproduces the data very well.

Astrophysics