Brown-dwarf desert
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A brown-dwarf desert is an orbital distance around a star at which brown dwarfs cannot exist as binary stars.[1] This is usually up to 5 AU around solar mass stars.
This desert occurs because if a brown dwarf was to form it would have to do so at the same time as its companion star. If the brown dwarf forms within 5 AU of its companion star it would begin migration towards the star and eventually become consumed by the larger star.
It has recently been observed that very-low-mass binaries could destroy the theory of brown-dwarf deserts. This is because low-mass binaries are seen to orbit within 5AU; however, due to the low mass of the larger companion, this matter is still a topic of debate.
[edit] References
- ^ Hubert Klahr and Wolfgang Brandner (2006). Planet Formation: Theory, Observations, and Experiments. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0521860156.
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