Brown dwarfs, essentially stunted stars, were most likely ejected from newborn, multiple-star systems before they had a chance to accumulate enough mass to ignite the hydrogen in their interiors and flower, according to a new study. University of Colorado at Boulder astronomer Bo Reipurth said that most newborn stars are spawned in binary or multiple systems involving two, three, four, five or even more stars. Just as newborn mammals on Earth compete with each other for milk, newborn stars in multiple systems compete for gaseous matter that generates speedy growth, he said.