The onset of planet formation in brown dwarf disks.
The onset of planet formation in protoplanetary disks is marked by the growth and crystallization of sub-micrometer-sized dust grains accompanied by dust settling toward the disk mid-plane. Here, we present infrared spectra of disks around brown dwarfs and brown dwarf candidates. We show that all three processes occur in such cool disks in a way similar or identical to that in disks around low- and intermediate-mass stars. These results indicate that the onset of planet formation extends to disks around brown dwarfs, suggesting that planet formation is a robust process occurring in most young circumstellar disks.
Apai
Dániel
D
Steward Observatory, University of Arizona, 933 North Cherry Avenue, Tucson, AZ 85721, USA. apai@as.arizona.edu
Pascucci
Ilaria
I
Bouwman
Jeroen
J
Natta
Antonella
A
Henning
Thomas
T
Dullemond
Cornelis P
CP
D055580:Astronomical Phenomena; D001256:Astronomy; D019443:Cosmic Dust; D003460:Crystallization; D019419:Evolution, Planetary; D016083:Planets; D013057:Spectrum Analysis
D019443:Cosmic Dust