  We report the results of the first deep, wide-field, near-infrared methane
imaging survey of the Rho Ophiuchi cloud core to search for T dwarfs. Among the
6587 objects detected, 22 were identified as T dwarf candidates. Brown dwarf
models indicate that at the age and distance of the Rho Ophiuchi cloud, these T
dwarf candidates have masses between 1 and 2 Jupiter masses. If confirmed as
genuine T dwarfs, these objects would be the youngest, lowest mass, and lowest
gravity free-floating objects ever directly observed. The existence of these
candidates suggests that the initial mass function of the Rho Ophiuchi cloud
extends well into the regime of planetary mass objects. A large fraction (59%
+/- 16%) of our T dwarf candidates appear to be surrounded by circumstellar
disks, and thus represent the lowest mass objects yet found to harbor
circumstellar disks.
