International Conference at Ringberg castle , Bavaria, Germany, October 21-24, 2012

50 Years of Brown Dwarfs:
from Theoretical Prediction to Astrophysical Studies

This workshop will take place exactly 50 years after the theoretical prediction of the existence of brown dwarfs, i.e. of degenerate objects just not massive enough to sustain stable hydrogen fusion. The exploration of brown dwarfs has seen tremendous progress over the last years since the first discoveries in the 90ies. How brown dwarfs form, however, is still one of the main open questions in the theory of star formation. A key role to answer this question play brown dwarfs as members of binary and multiple systems. Steadily improving instrumental performance led to the discovery of companions around brown dwarfs down to planetary masses, to size (radii) and dynamical mass determinations, and to statistically significant samples of very low-mass binaries. These detailed empirical characterizations of brown dwarfs enable us to test and calibrate increasingly sophisticated models of internal structure, atmosphere, and formation of substellar objects.

The Ringberg workshop will open with a celebration of the 50th anniversary of Shiv Kumars's theoretical prediction of brown dwarfs and proceed to explore the origin of brown dwarfs with a focus on brown dwarf binaries. The aim is to foster a close link between observational binary studies (RV and direct imaging, incl. individual benchmark systems) and theories in the field of brown dwarf formation. The program will include invited review talks on the main topics as well as contributed talks. We cordially invite the community for abstract submissions.