THE DEUTERIUM-BURNING MASS LIMIT FOR BROWN DWARFS AND GIANT PLANETS
- Department of Astrophysical Sciences, Peyton Hall, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544 (United States)
There is no universally acknowledged criterion to distinguish brown dwarfs from planets. Numerous studies have used or suggested a definition based on an object's mass, taking the {approx}13 Jupiter mass (M{sub J} ) limit for the ignition of deuterium. Here, we investigate various deuterium-burning masses for a range of models. We find that, while 13 M{sub J} is generally a reasonable rule of thumb, the deuterium fusion mass depends on the helium abundance, the initial deuterium abundance, the metallicity of the model, and on what fraction of an object's initial deuterium abundance must combust in order for the object to qualify as having burned deuterium. Even though, for most proto-brown dwarf conditions, 50% of the initial deuterium will burn if the object's mass is {approx}(13.0 {+-} 0.8) M{sub J} , the full range of possibilities is significantly broader. For models ranging from zero-metallicity to more than three times solar metallicity, the deuterium-burning mass ranges from {approx}11.0 M{sub J} (for three times solar metallicity, 10% of initial deuterium burned) to {approx}16.3 M{sub J} ( for zero metallicity, 90% of initial deuterium burned).
- OSTI ID:
- 21567589
- Journal Information:
- Astrophysical Journal, Vol. 727, Issue 1; Other Information: DOI: 10.1088/0004-637X/727/1/57; ISSN 0004-637X
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
Similar Records
HIGH-CONTRAST 3.8 {mu}m IMAGING OF THE BROWN DWARF/PLANET-MASS COMPANION TO GJ 758
MOA-2010-BLG-073L: AN M-DWARF WITH A SUBSTELLAR COMPANION AT THE PLANET/BROWN DWARF BOUNDARY