Paper "Jupiter Mass Binary Objects in the Trapezium" by Pearson et. al.
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Originally Posted by Pearson et. al.
Abstract
A key outstanding question in star and planet formation is how far the initial mass
function of stars and sub-stellar objects extends, and whether or not there is a cutoff
at the very lowest masses. Isolated objects in the planetary-mass domain below
13 Jupiter masses, where not even deuterium can fuse, are very challenging to
observe as these objects are inherently faint. Nearby star-forming regions provide
the best opportunity to search for them though: while they are young, they are
still relatively warm and luminous at infrared wavelengths. Previous surveys have
discovered a handful of such sources down to 3–5 Jupiter masses, around the
minimum mass limit established for formation via the fragmentation of molecular
clouds, but does the mass function extend further? In a new James Webb Space
Telescope near-infrared survey of the inner Orion Nebula and Trapezium Cluster,
we have discovered and characterised a sample of 540 planetary-mass candidates
with masses down to 0.6 Jupiter masses, demonstrating that there is indeed no
sharp cut-off in the mass function. Furthermore, we find that 9% of the planetarymass
objects are in wide binaries, a result that is highly unexpected and which
challenges current theories of both star and planet formation.
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Link here to PDF :-
https://arxiv.org/pdf/2310.01231.pdf