Related papers: A Dynamical Origin for Brown Dwarfs
Star formation theories have struggled to reproduce binary brown dwarf population demographics (frequency, separation, mass-ratio). Kernel-phase interferometry is sensitive to companions at separations inaccessible to classical imaging,…
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…
Spirals and streamers are the hallmarks of mass accretion during the early stages of star formation. We present the first observations of a large-scale spiral and a streamer towards a very young brown dwarf candidate in its early formation…
Over the past year, we have conducted a multi-faceted program to investigate the origin and early evolution of brown dwarfs. Using high-resolution Keck optical spectra of ~30 objects near and below the sub-stellar boundary in several…
We present new evidence for a problem with cooling rates predicted by substellar evolutionary models that implies model-derived masses in the literature for brown dwarfs and directly imaged planets may be too high. Based on our dynamical…
Variability studies are an important tool to investigate key properties of stars and brown dwarfs. From photometric monitoring we are able to obtain information about rotation and magnetic activity, which are expected to change in the mass…
We present an analytical method for constraining the substellar initial mass function in globular clusters, based on the observed frequency of transit events. Globular clusters typically have very high stellar densities where close…
Sun-like stars are known to host a paucity of brown dwarf companions at close separations. Direct imaging surveys of intermediate-mass stars have suggested that the brown dwarf desert may be fundamentally a feature in the mass ratio.…
We have determined astrometric positions for 15 WISE-discovered late-type brown dwarfs (6 T8-9 and 9 Y dwarfs) using the Keck II telescope, the Spitzer Space Telescope, and the Hubble Space Telescope. Combining data from 8 to 20 epochs we…
In this paper, we review the current theory of very low mass stars model atmospheres including the coolest known M~dwarfs, M~subdwarfs, and brown dwarfs, i.e. T$_{eff} \leq 5,000 $K and $-2.0 \le [M/H] \le +0.0$. We discuss ongoing efforts…
We report the results of deep infrared observations of brown dwarf candidates in the Trapezium cluster in Orion. Analysis of the JHK color-color diagram indicates that a large fraction (approx 65% +/- 15%) of the observed sources exhibit…
Isolated low-mass stars are formed, in the standard picture, from the collapse of dense cores condensed out of strongly magnetized molecular clouds. The dynamically collapsing inflow traps nearly half of the critical magnetic flux needed…
We investigate the formation of brown dwarfs and very low-mass stars through the gravitational fragmentation of infalling gas into stellar clusters. The gravitational potential of a forming stellar cluster provides the focus that attracts…
Up to now, most planet search projects have concentrated on F to K stars. In order to considerably widen the view, we have stated a survey for planets of old, nearby brown dwarfs and very low mass stars. Using UVES, we have observed 26…
The formation of low-mass protostars and especially of brown dwarfs currently are ``hot topics'' in cool star research. The talks contributed to this splinter session discussed how low in mass and how low in luminosity objects might exist,…
We discuss the observations and theory of star cluster formation to argue that clusters form dynamically cool (subvirial) and with substructure. We then perform an ensemble of simulations of cool, clumpy (fractal) clusters and show that…
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…
Very low-mass main-sequence stars reveal some curious trends in observed rotation period distributions that require abating the spin-down that standard rotational evolution models would otherwise imply. By dynamically coupling magnetically…
White dwarfs are routinely observed to have polluted atmospheres, and sometimes significant infrared excesses, that indicate ongoing accretion of circumstellar dust and rocky debris. Typically this debris is assumed to be in the form of a…
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,…