Spitzer IRS spectra of young stars near the hydrogen-burning mass limit

We present Spitzer Infrared Spectrograph measurements for two young stars near the hydrogen-burning mass limit in the Taurus star-forming region. While one of the objects, V410 X-ray 3, displays no mid-infrared excess, the other one, V410 Anon 13, shows a clear excess at wavelengths longward of 10 μm, indicative of a circumstellar disk. Moreover, the disk surrounding V410 Anon 13 is reminiscent of flared accretion disks around classical T Tauri stars; small dust grains in the disk photosphere generate the broad 10 μm silicate emission feature, whose structure suggests the presence of crystalline components. This demonstrates that very low mass objects, like their more massive counterparts, experience dust processing in their disks. © 2005. The American Astronomical Society. All rights reserved