What mass value defines the lower boundary separating the largest planets from brown dwarfs?
Answer
Approximately 13 Jupiter masses ($13 M_J$)
The classification system uses specific mass benchmarks to distinguish between planetary bodies and substellar objects. The lower limit defining a brown dwarf, which sits just above the category of large gas giant planets, is set at roughly 13 Jupiter masses ($M_J$). Objects below this mass lack sufficient gravitational force to achieve the core conditions necessary even for the temporary fusion of deuterium ($ ext{}^2 ext{H}$), relying solely on slow gravitational contraction (Kelvin-Helmholtz contraction) for their meager energy output, whereas objects above this limit can sustain brief deuterium burning.
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