Are the "Hot Jupiters" Really Planets and not Small Stars?

In the past 8 years, astronomers have discovered over 100 probable planets around other stars. According to the standard model of planet formation (pre-1996), many of these planets are too close to their stars to have formed in their present locations. This has lead to a few astronomers suggesting that these are not, in fact, planets at all. Rather, the scientists argue, these objects are really small stars. Because our most successful detection method only gives a lower limit on the object's mass, distinguishing the two classes of objects is difficult. However, I feel that there is enough evidence to conclude that many, or even most, of these objects are really planets.

Before explaining why I conclude that these are planets, allow me to remind the reader of how we have detected extra-solar planets. As a planet orbits its star, being pulled by the star's gravity, it exerts and equal and opposite force on its star. (This is in accord with Newton's 3rd law, which says that for every ...