Astro2020 Science White Paper: Fundamental Physics with Brown Dwarfs: The Mass-Radius Relation
astro-ph.SR
/ Authors
Adam Burgasser, Isabelle Baraffe, Matthew Browning, Adam Burrows, Gilles Chabrier, Michelle Creech-Eakman, Brice Demory, Sergio Dieterich, Jacqueline Faherty, Daniel Huber
and 10 more authors
Nicolas Lodieu, Peter Plavchan, R. Michael Rich, Didier Saumon, Keivan Stassun, Amaury Triaud, Gerard van Belle, Valerie Van Grootel, Johanna M. Vos, Rakesh Yadav
/ Abstract
The lowest-mass stars, brown dwarfs and giant exoplanets span a minimum in the mass-radius relationship that probes the fundamental physics of extreme states of matter, magnetism, and fusion. This White Paper outlines scientific opportunities and the necessary resources for modeling and measuring the mass-radius relationship in this regime.