SMA and CARMA observations of young brown dwarfs in ρ Ophiuchi and Taurus

• Main Authors: Lee C.-F., Ngoc P.-B., Ho P.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: EDP Sciences 2011-07-01
• Series: EPJ Web of Conferences
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1051/epjconf/20111606003

Molecular outflows provide vital information about the earliest stages in the birth of stars, studying the molecular outflow properties is therefore crucial for understanding how stars form. Brown dwarfs with masses between that of stars and planets are not massive enough to maintain stable hydrogen-burning fusion reactions during most of their lifetime. Their origins are subject to much debate in recent literature because their masses are far below the typical mass where core collapse is expected to occur. Based on Submillimeter Array (SMA) and Combined Array for Research in Millimeter-wave Astronomy (CARMA) observations, we present the first detections of bipolar molecular outflows from young brown dwarfs in ρ Ophiuchi and Taurus. Our results demonstrate that the bipolar molecular outflow operates down to brown dwarf masses, occurring in brown dwarfs as a scaled-down version of the universal process seen in young low-mass stars. This demonstrates that brown dwarfs and low-mass stars likely share the same formation mechanism.