Talk
Young brown dwarfs appear to share many similarities with T Tauri stars.
Specifically, many of them exhibit excess emission at infrared and submm
wavelengths, indicating the presence of dusty disks. Investigating the
properties and evolution of these disks by analyzing their SEDs is a
useful probe of brown dwarf origins, and additionally allow us to
constrain the efficiency and universality of planet formation. Until
recently, our detailed knowledge of substellar disks relied on a few case
studies. Therefore we carried out a program to characterize disks of brown
dwarfs based on large object samples using the unique capabilities of
Spitzer combined with sensitive submm/mm observations. Our 1.3 mm study in
Taurus provided MIR-mm SEDs for 20 brown dwarfs, allowing us for the first
time to constrain disk masses and radii for these objects in a systematic
way. From our results, we do not see evidence for truncated disks due to an
ejection process early in the life history of brown dwarfs, implying that
most sub-stellar objects probably form in isolation. In a forthcoming
study based on Spitzer data, we analysed the mid-infrared SEDs of 26
brown dwarfs in Upper Scorpius, with ages of ~5 Myr. At this age, signs
of disk evolution, i.e. grain growth, dust settling, and inner disk
clearing, are ubiquitous, providing the pre-requisites for planet
formation in brown dwarf disks. In this talk, I will summarize both
projects and present a comprehensive view of brown dwarf disks.
Specifically, many of them exhibit excess emission at infrared and submm
wavelengths, indicating the presence of dusty disks. Investigating the
properties and evolution of these disks by analyzing their SEDs is a
useful probe of brown dwarf origins, and additionally allow us to
constrain the efficiency and universality of planet formation. Until
recently, our detailed knowledge of substellar disks relied on a few case
studies. Therefore we carried out a program to characterize disks of brown
dwarfs based on large object samples using the unique capabilities of
Spitzer combined with sensitive submm/mm observations. Our 1.3 mm study in
Taurus provided MIR-mm SEDs for 20 brown dwarfs, allowing us for the first
time to constrain disk masses and radii for these objects in a systematic
way. From our results, we do not see evidence for truncated disks due to an
ejection process early in the life history of brown dwarfs, implying that
most sub-stellar objects probably form in isolation. In a forthcoming
study based on Spitzer data, we analysed the mid-infrared SEDs of 26
brown dwarfs in Upper Scorpius, with ages of ~5 Myr. At this age, signs
of disk evolution, i.e. grain growth, dust settling, and inner disk
clearing, are ubiquitous, providing the pre-requisites for planet
formation in brown dwarf disks. In this talk, I will summarize both
projects and present a comprehensive view of brown dwarf disks.
