Computer Science
Scientific paper
Mar 2005
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2005sptz.prop..248m&link_type=abstract
Spitzer Proposal ID #248
Computer Science
Scientific paper
This program investigates the evolution of brown dwarf disks beyond the initial disk-accretion phase, using Spitzer IRS and MIPS. The sample comprises ~20 young brown dwarfs in nearby star-forming regions and young clusters (rho Oph, Taurus, IC348, Cha I, R CrA, sigma Ori and Upper Sco), spanning ages of <1 - 5 Myr, and ranging in mass from the hydrogen-burning limit (~80 M_Jup) down to nearly the planetary-mass domain (~12 M_Jup). Extensive optical spectroscopy has revealed that most of the sources are either past, or nearing the end of, their main disk-accretion stage; nevertheless, many are still girdled by remaining disk material, as evinced by their observed infrared excesses. Stellar disks in such a transitional phase manifest various evolutionary signatures, such as significant grain growth, gradual settling of dust to the disk mid-plane, processing of amorphous silicates into crystalline ones, and the clearing of large inner holes possibly due to planetesimal formation. To explore whether similar processes also occur in the sub-stellar domain, I shall obtain: (1) low-res 5.2-14.5um spectra with Spitzer IRS, and (2) 24um photometry with MIPS. By comparing the SED and 10um silicate emission to disk radiative-transfer models and synthetic grain emission spectra, I will examine dust composition, grain evolution, and (possibly planetesimal induced) gap-formation in brown dwarf disks, over the entire range of sub-stellar masses and beyond the accretion stage. Combined with data on sub-mm/mm emission from brown dwarf disks that we are currently obtaining, the Spitzer observations will also yield the first look at disk dispersal timescales in the brown dwarf regime.
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