Properties of Circum(sub)stellar Accretion Disks

Abstract

We have completed a systematic survey for disks around young brown dwarfs and very low mass stars. By choosing a well-defined sample and by obtaining sensitive thermal IR observations, we can make an unbiased measurement of the disk fraction around such low mass objects. We find that ~75% of our sample show intrinsic IR excesses, indicative of circum(sub)stellar disks. We discuss the physical properties of these disks and their relation to the much better studied disks around solar-mass stars. The high incidence of disks around substellar objects also raises the possibility of planetary systems around brown dwarfs.

To appear in Scientific Frontiers in Research on Extrasolar Planets (ASP Conf. Proc.), in press Figure 3 replaced so that the version posted here matches the published one, as well as the final ApJ paper (astro-ph/0210523)