Related papers: Brown Dwarf Formation: Theory
In this review, we examine the successes and weaknesses of modern low-mass star and brown dwarf theory.(1) We first focus on the mechanical (equation of state) and thermal (atmosphere) properties and on the evolution. We then examine the…
Under the right conditions brown dwarfs that gain enough mass late in their lives to cross the hydrogen burning limit will not turn into low-mass stars, but rather remain essentially brown dwarf-like. While these objects, called either…
Stars form from large clouds of gas and dust that contract under their own gravity. The birth of a star occurred when a fusion reaction of hydrogen into helium has ignited in its core. The key variable that determines the formation of a…
We briefly outline the physics underlying the mechanical and thermal properties of brown dwarfs, which characterizes their interiors and their atmospheres. We mention the most recent improvements realyzed in the theory of brown dwarfs and…
Characterization of the properties of young brown dwarfs are important to constraining the formation of objects at the extreme low-mass end of the IMF. While young brown dwarfs share many properties with solar-mass T Tauri stars,…
Dust formation in brown dwarf atmospheres is studied by utilising a model for driven turbulence in the mesoscopic scale regime. We apply a pseudo-spectral method where waves are created and superimposed within a limited wavenumber interval.…
The formation and evolution of brown dwarfs are currently "hot topics" in cool star research. Latest observations and modeling efforts on disks, accretion, outflows, spatial distribution, and binarity in the context of the formation by…
Precise measurements of the fundamental properties of low-mass stars and brown dwarfs are key to understanding the physics underlying their formation and evolution. While there has been great progress over the last decade in studying the…
Brown dwarfs constitute a missing link between low-mass stars and giant planets. Their atmospheres display chemical species typical of planets, and one could wonder whether they also have weather-like patterns. While brown dwarf surface…
The formation mechanisms and chemical compositions of brown dwarfs likely span a diverse range. If they are formed predominantly in isolation by gravitational collapse like dwarf stars then their compositions might follow those of dwarf…
In order to understand the atmospheres as well as the formation mechanism of giant planets formed outside our solar system, the next decade will require an investment in studies of isolated young brown dwarfs. In this white paper we…
We investigate the effects of dark matter annihilation on objects with masses close to the sub-stellar limit, finding that the minimum mass for stable hydrogen burning is larger than the $\sim0.075 M_\odot $ value predicted in the Standard…
Planets have been detected around a variety of stars, including low-mass objects, such as brown dwarfs. However, such extreme cases are challenging for planet formation models. Recent sub-millimeter observations of disks around brown dwarf…
We discuss a scenario in which brown dwarfs are formed like stars, except that their full collapse phases are interrupted through dynamical interactions in small multiple systems, leading to the ejection of the lightest member. This…
Observations of brown dwarfs provide important feedback on theories of atmospheres and inner structure of substellar objects. Brown dwarf binary systems furthermore offer the unique opportunity to determine the mass of individual brown…
This White Paper, submitted to the National Academy of Sciences' Astro2010 Decadal Review Committee, focuses on 2 central themes in the study of young brown dwarfs -- their formation mechanism and disk characteristics -- which are of direct…
Dozens of planets and brown dwarfs are known to orbit one component of tight stellar binaries ($a_{\rm bin} \lesssim 20$ au), despite circumstellar discs in such systems being truncated to radii of only $\sim (0.2-5)$ au. This presents a…
Brown dwarfs -- substellar bodies more massive than planets but not massive enough to initiate the sustained hydrogen fusion that powers self-luminous stars -- are born hot and slowly cool as they age. As they cool below about 2,300 K,…
Recent observations point to the presence of structured dust grains in the discs surrounding young brown dwarfs, thus implying that the first stages of planet formation take place also in the sub-stellar regime. Here, we investigate the…
We explore the possibility that, in the vicinity of an OB star, a prestellar core which would otherwise have formed an intermediate or low-mass star may form a free-floating brown dwarf or planetary-mass object, because the outer layers of…