We present an analysis of low-resolution infrared spectra for 25 brown dwarf candidates in the NGC 1333 molecular cloud .
Candidates were chosen on the basis of their association with the high column density cloud core , and near-infrared fluxes and colors .
We compare the depths of water vapor absorption bands in our candidate objects with a grid of dwarf , subgiant , and giant standards to determine spectral types which are independent of reddening .
These data are used to derive effective temperatures and bolometric luminosities which , when combined with theoretical tracks and isochrones for pre-main sequence objects , enable us to estimate masses and ages .
Depending on the models considered , a total of 9 to 20 brown dwarfs are identified with a median of age of < 1 Myr .