We propose a program of deep PACS photometry of 50 young brown dwarfs and YSOs at the hydrogen-burning limit, 0.08 solar masses. We have selected these from documented BDs in the literature that have been observed to have circumstellar disks based on their 1-24um SEDs. None of these objects is bright enough to have been detectable with Spitzer beyond 24um. We eliminated objects from our list that are likely to be detected in the large-area Herschel Key Project surveys of star-forming regions, and we also eliminated objects whose disks are likely to be below our detection limit of a few mJy at 70um. We expect to be able to detect or obtain important upper limits on the cold disk emission at 70um for all 50 sources, and to obtain useful detections or limits at 160um for at least a third of our objects. We will combine our results with those from Spitzer and ground-based telescopes and then model the SEDs with two different radiative transfer codes existing at the University of Kiel and University of Grenoble. These results will provide the first quantitative assessment of the structure and mass of cold dust around the lowest mass objects that form like stars. Our data and modeling will provide important new constraints to the understanding of disk evolution and planet formation by extending the range of central object masses to ~ 0.01 solar masses.
Publication
A Herschel Survey of Cold Dust in Disks around Brown Dwarfs and Low-mass Stars | Harvey Paul M. et al. | The Astrophysical Journal Volume 755 Issue 1 article id. 67 13 pp. (2012). | 755 | 10.1088/0004-637X/755/1/67 | 2012ApJ...755...67H | http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2012ApJ...755...67H
Herschel PACS and SPIRE observations of TW Hydrae association brown dwarf disks | Riaz B. et al. | Astronomy & Astrophysics Volume 548 id.A54 7 pp. | 548 | 10.1051/0004-6361/201219524 | 2012A&A...548A..54R | http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2012A%26A...548A..54R
A Herschel Search for Cold Dust in Brown Dwarf Disks: First Results | Harvey Paul M. et al. | The Astrophysical Journal Letters Volume 744 Issue 1 article id. L1 6 pp. (2012). | 744 | 10.1088/2041-8205/744/1/L1 | 2012ApJ...744L...1H | http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2012ApJ...744L...1H
A homogeneous analysis of disks around brown dwarfs | Liu Y. et al. | Astronomy & Astrophysics Volume 582 id.A22 20 pp. | 582 | 10.1051/0004-6361/201526153 | 2015A&A...582A..22L | http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2015A%26A...582A..22L
Instrument
PACS_PacsPhoto_largeScan
Temporal Coverage
2010-08-10T21:49:59Z/2011-09-09T14:31:11Z
Version
SPG v14.2.0
Mission Description
Herschel was launched on 14 May 2009! It is the fourth cornerstone mission in the ESA science programme. With a 3.5 m Cassegrain telescope it is the largest space telescope ever launched. It is performing photometry and spectroscopy in approximately the 55-671 µm range, bridging the gap between earlier infrared space missions and groundbased facilities.
European Space Agency, harvey et al., 2012, 'Structure and Evolution of Disks Around Brown Dwarfs and Very Low Mass Stars', SPG v14.2.0, European Space Agency, https://doi.org/10.5270/esa-eisk40i
