Interferometric Identification of a Pre-Brown Dwarf

Abstract

It is not known whether brown dwarfs (stellar-like objects with masses less than the hydrogen-burning limit, 0.075 Msun) are formed in the same way as solar-type stars or by some other process. Here we report the clear-cut identification of a self-gravitating condensation of gas and dust with a mass in the brown-dwarf regime, made through millimeter interferometric observations. The level of thermal millimeter continuum emission detected from this object indicates a mass ~ 0.02-0.03 Msun, while the small radius < 460 AU and narrow spectral lines imply a dynamical mass of 0.015-0.02 Msun. The identification of such a pre-brown dwarf core supports models according to which brown dwarfs are formed in the same manner as hydrogen-burning stars.

23 pages, 6 figures, Supporting Online Material included. Published in Science (Vol. 337, 6 july 2012); http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/337/6090/69?ijkey=ODfDOFPXGRc9E&keytype=ref&siteid=sci