Brown dwarfs binaries: from statistics to formation and evolution

Abstract: The binary properties of brown dwarfs in the field form a continuum with the trends observed in the stellar regime, with fewer binary systems, smaller separations and higher mass ratios seen around lower-mass objects. However, the binary statistics of the latest-type T and Y brown dwarfs are sparse and it is unclear whether the trends seen for their more massive counterparts hold for the very coolest brown dwarfs. On the other hand, young brown dwarfs appear to have different multiplicity properties than those observed in the older field population. Measuring and understanding these discrepancies is necessary to allow more realistic modelling for formation theories and be able to predict the evolution and fate of binaries. In this talk, I will present results from a campaign compiled to investigate the binary statistics as a function of age for the extreme low-mass end of the Initial Mass Function. Based on constraints from Bayesian statistical analyses, I will discuss the implications of the observed disparities for brown dwarf formation and evolution models.

astrophysicsgeneral relativity and quantum cosmologyinstrumentation and detectors

Audience: researchers in the topic

CENTRA Seminar

Series comments: Recordings of the CENTRA seminars are posted at the following URL:

portal.educast.fccn.pt/videos?c=6865