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Linking atmospheric characteristics of planets to their formation pathways isa central theme in the study of extrasolar planets. Although the 12C/13Cisotope ratio shows little variation in the solar system, the atmosphere of asuper-Jupiter was recently shown to be rich in 13CO, possibly as a result ofdominant ice accretion beyond the CO snowline during its formation. In thispaper we aim to measure the 12CO/13CO isotopologue ratio of a young, isolatedbrown dwarf. While the general atmospheric characteristics of young, low massbrown dwarfs are expected to be very similar to those of super-Jupiters, theirformation pathways may be different, leading to distinct isotopologue ratios.We analyse archival K-band spectra of the L dwarf 2MASS J03552337+1133437 takenwith NIRSPEC at the Keck telescope. A free retrieval analysis is applied to thedata to determine the isotopologue ratio 12CO/13CO in its atmosphere. Theisotopologue 13CO, is detected in the atmosphere through the cross-correlationmethod at a signal-to-noise of ~8.4. The detection significance is determinedto be ~9.5 sigma using Bayesian model comparison between two retrieval models.We retrieve an isotopologue ratio 12CO/13CO of 97(+25/-18), marginally higherthan the local interstellar standard. Its C/O ratio of ~0.56 is consistent withthe solar value. Although only one super-Jupiter and one brown dwarf have now ameasured 12CO/13CO ratio, it is intriguing that they are different, possiblyhinting to distinct formation pathways. Albeit spectroscopic similarities,isolated brown dwarfs may experience a top-down formation via gravitationalcollapse, which resembles star formation, while giant exoplanets favorably formthrough core accretion, which potentially alters isotopologue ratios in theiratmospheres depending on the material they accrete from protoplanetary disks.(abridged)

The 12CO/13CO isotopologue ratio of a young, isolated brown dwarf. Possibly distinct formation pathways of super-Jupiters and brown dwarfs