A METHANE IMAGING SURVEY FOR T DWARF CANDIDATES IN {rho} OPHIUCHI
- Physics Department, Utah Valley University, 800 West University Parkway, Orem, UT 85058-5999 (United States)
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, San Francisco State University, 1600 Holloway Avenue, San Francisco, CA 94132 (United States)
- Department of Astrophysics, School of Physics, University of New South Wales, NSW 2052 (Australia)
We report on the results of the first deep, wide-field, near-infrared methane imaging survey of the {rho} Ophiuchi cloud core to search for T dwarfs. Among the 6587 objects detected, 22 were identified as T dwarf candidates. Brown dwarf models indicate that at the age and distance of the {rho} Ophiuchi cloud, these T dwarf candidates have masses between 1 and 2 Jupiter masses. If confirmed as genuine T dwarfs, these objects would be the youngest, lowest mass, and lowest gravity free-floating objects ever directly observed. The existence of these candidates suggests that the initial mass function of the {rho} Ophiuchi cloud extends well into the regime of planetary mass objects. A large fraction (59% {+-} 16%) of our T dwarf candidates appear to be surrounded by circumstellar disks, and thus represents the lowest mass objects yet found to harbor circumstellar disks.
- OSTI ID:
- 21450973
- Journal Information:
- Astrophysical Journal Letters, Journal Name: Astrophysical Journal Letters Journal Issue: 1 Vol. 719; ISSN 2041-8205
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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