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Paper: Extrasolar Giant Planets in the Sigma Orionis Open Cluster: a Progress Report
Volume: 321, Extrasolar Planets: Today and Tomorrow
Page: 193
Authors: Martin, E.L.; Zapatero Osorio, M.R.; Barrado y Navascues, D.; Bejar, V.J.S.; Caballero, J.A.; Rebolo, R.; Eisloffel, J.; Mundt, R.
Abstract: We report on our ongoing efforts to probe for extrasolar giant planets in the Sigma Orionis open cluster. With an age of about 3 Myr, a distance of about 440 pc and very low reddening, this cluster provides a privileged hunting ground for brown dwarfs and superplanets. Several L dwarfs and one T dwarf have been identified in the cluster. Assuming cluster membership, their masses, estimated from evolutionary models, range from 15 to 3 Jupiter masses. These objects appear to be numerous, indicating that superplanets could be more abundant free floating in interstellar space than in orbits around normal stars.
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