The formation of brown dwarfs in discs: Physics, numerics, and
  observations
  A large fraction of brown dwarfs and low-mass stars may form by gravitational
fragmentation of relatively massive (a few 0.1 Msun), extended (a few hundred
AU) discs around Sun-like stars. We present an ensemble of radiative
hydrodynamic simulations that examine the conditions for disc fragmentation. We
demonstrate that this model can explain the low-mass IMF, the brown dwarf
desert, and the binary properties of low-mass stars and brown dwarfs. Observing
discs that are undergoing fragmentation is possible but very improbable, as the
process of disc fragmentation is short lived (discs fragment within a few
thousand years).
