Related papers: Brown Dwarfs
Young brown dwarfs and directly-imaged exoplanets have enticingly similar photometric and spectroscopic characteristics, indicating that their cool, low gravity atmospheres should be studied in concert. Similarities between the peculiar…
The atmosphere of a brown dwarf or extrasolar giant planet controls the spectrum of radiation emitted by the object and regulates its cooling over time. While the study of these atmospheres has been informed by decades of experience…
(Abridged) We aim at identifying the least massive population of the solar metallicity, young (120 Myr), nearby (133.5 pc) Pleiades star cluster with the ultimate goal of understanding the physical properties of intermediate-age,…
This paper discusses the ability of Li to confirm the substellar nature of a brown dwarf candidate. Theoretical computations using different interior models agree that brown dwarfs with masses below $\sim$ 0.065 M$_{\odot}$ preserve a…
I review the optical and near-infrared spectral characteristics of the extremely cool dwarfs grouped under the new classification of type L. These include both very low-mass stars and brown dwarfs, and we discuss the likely temperature…
We report the discovery of a widely separated (258$\farcs3\pm0\farcs$4) T dwarf companion to the Gl 570ABC system. This new component, Gl 570D, was initially identified from the Two Micron All Sky Survey (2MASS). Its near-infrared spectrum…
Theoretical spectra and evolutionary models that span the giant planet--brown dwarf continuum have been computed based on the recent discovery of the brown dwarf, Gliese 229 B. A flux enhancement in the 4--5 micron window is a universal…
The difference in formation process between binary stars and planetary systems is reflected in their composition as well as their orbital architecture, particularly orbital eccentricity as a function of orbital period. It is suggested here…
We review the current state of observational work on the formation of brown dwarfs, focusing on their initial mass function, velocity and spatial distributions at birth, multiplicity, accretion, and circumstellar disks. The available…
Recent wide-field near-infrared surveys have uncovered a large number of cool brown dwarfs, extending the temperature sequence down to less than 500 K and constraining the faint end of the luminosity function. One interesting implication of…
We review our present understanding of the physical properties of substellar objects, brown dwarfs and irradiated or non-irradiated gaseous exoplanets. This includes a description of their internal properties, mechanical structure and heat…
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…
Given the very close proximity of their habitable zones, brown dwarfs represent high-value targets in the search for nearby transiting habitable planets that may be suitable for follow-up occultation spectroscopy. In this paper we develop…
Brown dwarfs, which straddle the mass range between stars and planets, appear to be common both in the solar neighborhood and in star-forming regions. Their ubiquity makes the question of their origin an important one both for our…
We present the results of a 6.4 square degrees imaging survey of the Pleiades cluster in the I and Z-bands. The survey extends up to 3 degrees from the cluster center and is 90% complete down to I~22. It covers a mass range from 0.03 Msun…
We explore the spectral and atmospheric properties of brown dwarfs cooler than the latest known T dwarfs. Our focus is on the yet-to-be-discovered free-floating brown dwarfs in the \teff range from $\sim$800 K to $\sim$130 K and with masses…
We present a search for low-mass brown dwarfs in the Pleiades open cluster. The identification of Pleiades members fainter and cooler than those currently known allows us to constrain evolutionary models for L dwarfs and to extend the study…
We report the discovery of the first new ultra-cool brown dwarf found with the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE). The object's preliminary designation is WISEPC J045853.90+643451.9. Follow-up spectroscopy with the LUCIFER…
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 detection of brown dwarfs in globular star clusters will allow us to break the degeneracies in age, mass and composition that affect our current models, and therefore to constrain the physics of their atmospheres and interiors.…