Brown dwarf disks with ALMA
Abstract
We present ALMA continuum and spectral line data at 0.89 mm and 3.2 mm for three disks surrounding young brown dwarfs and very low mass stars in the Taurus star forming region. Dust thermal emission is detected and spatially resolved for all the three disks, while CO(J=3-2) emission is seen in two disks. We analyze the continuum visibilities and constrain the disks physical structure in dust. The results of our analysis show that the disks are relatively large, the smallest one with an outer radius of about 70 AU. The inferred disk radii, radial profiles of the dust surface density and disk to central object mass ratios lie within the ranges found for disks around more massive young stars. We derive from our observations the wavelength dependence of the millimeter dust opacity. In all the three disks data are consistent with the presence of grains with at least millimeter sizes, as also found for disks around young stars, and confirm that the early stages of the solid growth toward planetesimals occur also around very low mass objects. We discuss the implications of our findings on models of solids evolution in protoplanetary disks, on the main mechanisms proposed for the formation of brown dwarfs and very low mass stars, as well as on the potential of finding rocky and giant planets around very low mass objects.
Additional Information
We thank E. van Kampen and ESO ARC for technical support. I. G. is supported by the Spanish MINECO grant AYA2011-30228-C03-01 (co-funded with FEDER fund). This paper makes use of the following ALMA data: ADS/JAO.ALMA#2011.0.00259.S. ALMA is a partnership of ESO (representing its member states), NSF (USA) and NINS (Japan), together with NRC (Canada) and NSC and ASIAA (Taiwan), in cooperation with the Republic of Chile. The Joint ALMA Observatory is operated by ESO, AUI/NRAO and NAOJ. The National Radio Astronomy Observatory is a facility of the National Science Foundation operated under cooperative agreement by Associated Universities, Inc.Attached Files
Accepted Version - 1406.0635v1.pdf
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Additional details
- Eprint ID
- 46272
- Resolver ID
- CaltechAUTHORS:20140616-082753270
- AYA2011-30228-C03-01
- Ministerio de Economía, Industria y Competitividad (MINECO)
- Fondo Europeo de Desarrollo Regional (FEDER)
- Created
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2014-06-16Created from EPrint's datestamp field
- Updated
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2023-06-02Created from EPrint's last_modified field