astro-ph/0510664 [abs, ps, pdf, other] :

Title: The Disk Fractions of Brown Dwarfs in IC 348 and Chamaeleon I

Authors: K. L. Luhman, C. J. Lada, L. Hartmann, A. A. Muench, S. T. Megeath, L. E. Allen, P. C. Myers, J. Muzerolle, E. Young, G. G. Fazio

Comments: 6 pages

Journal-ref: Astrophys.J. 631 (2005) L69-L72

Using the Infrared Array Camera (IRAC) aboard the Spitzer Space Telescope, we have obtained mid-infrared photometry for 25 and 18 low-mass members of the IC 348 and Chamaeleon I star-forming clusters, respectively (>M6, M<=0.08 Msun). We find that 42+/-13% and 50+/-17% of the two samples exhibit excess emission indicative of circumstellar disks. In comparison, the disk fractions for stellar members of these clusters are 33+/-4% and 45+/-7% (M0-M6, 0.7 Msun>=M>=0.1 Msun). The similarity of the disk fractions of stars and brown dwarfs is consistent with a common formation mechanism and indicates that the raw materials for planet formation are available around brown dwarfs as often as around stars.

http://arxiv.org/abs/astro-ph/0510664