Probing the Evolution of Brown Dwarf Disks

Details Probing the Evolution of Brown Dwarf Disks Probing the Evolution of Brown Dwarf Disks

Jun 2005

adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2005sptz.prop20435j&link_type=abstract

Spitzer Proposal ID #20435

Computer Science

Scientific paper

As the ranks of known isolated sub-stellar objects have swelled dramatically over the past five years, their origin and early evolution have become topics of widespread interest and fundamental significance. Recent observations have provided compelling evidence --in the form of infrared emission from dust and spectroscopic signatures of gas accretion-- that young brown dwarfs harbor circum(sub)stellar disks, just like low mass stars. Studies of these disks and their evolution could shed light on the origin of brown dwarfs themselves as well as the potential for planet formation around very low mass primaries. Here we propose to obtain IRS low-resolution spectra and MIPS photometry of all known brown dwarfs in the 5-Myr-old Upper Scorpius association, which represents the largest spectroscopically confirmed sample of young coeval sub-stellar objects. Combined with our near-infrared and (sub)millimeter observations from the ground, these Spitzer data will allow us to construct well constrained SEDs from about 1 micron all the way to 1 mm. We will derive important disk parameters and dust properties through model fits to the continuum SED and to the low-resolution spectra across the 10-micron silicate emission feature, and investigate such issues as disk geometry (flat v. flared), grain growth and processing and inner disk clearing. For the first time, our results will provide statistically significant constraints on the evolution of brown dwarf disks over the critical timescale of ~5 Myr, for meaningful comparison with the evolution of disks around higher mass stars over the same age range. We will estimate disk sizes and masses from the far-infrared and (sub)millimeter data, to help distinguish between different scenarios for brown dwarf origin. We will also evaluate the prospects for planet formation (from disk masses) and look for evidence of planetesimal evolution processes (grain growth, inner disk holes) around these brown dwarf primaries.

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