Exploring Brown Dwarf Disks
by
A. Natta and L. Testi
Osservatorio Astrofisico di Arcetri,
Largo Enrico Fermi 5, I-50125 Firenze, Italy
Abstract:
We discuss the spectral energy distribution of three very low mass
objects in Chamaeleon I for which ground-based spectroscopy and photometry
as well as ISO measurements in the mid-infrared are available
(Comeron et al. 2000; Persi et al. 2000). One of these stars
(Cha Halpha1) is a bona-fide brown dwarf, with mass 0.04-0.05 Msun.
We show that the observed emission is very well described
by models of circumstellar disks identical to those associated to T Tauri stars,
scaled down to keep the ratio of the disk-to-star mass constant
and to the appropriate stellar parameters.
This result provides a first indication that the formation mechanism
of T Tauri stars (via core contraction and formation of an
accretion disk)
extends to objects in the brown dwarf mass range.
Mantained by:
Leonardo Testi