Formation of brown dwarfs and planets

Abstract

Brown dwarfs and massive planets have similar structures, and there is probably an overlap in mass between the most massive planets and the lowest mass brown dwarfs. This raises questions as to what extent the structures of the most massive planets and lowest mass brown dwarfs differ, and what similarities (or not) there might be between their formation mechanisms. Here I discuss these issues on the background of recent numerical simulations of star formation, new evidence from cosmochemistry about the conditions in the early solar system, and recently discovered mechanisms that can expedite planetesimal and possibly planet formation greatly. © International Astronomical Union 2011.