| Term: | Free floating planets |
| Definition: |
A population of substellar objects which are not bound to stars; they are detected in young star clusters. Their masses, estimated from their fluxes, is several Jupiter masses, lower than those of brown dwarfs. Their formation is not yet explained. Among the envisaged possibilities: 1) These objects form like stars, from protostellar core collapse and subsequent accretion; 2) they form as low-mass members of small groups, and are ejected from the group; 3) they form like planets within circumstellar disks of higher-mass objects, but are ejected either due to internal dynamics or external interactions. |