Related papers: Demographics of Transition Objects
We investigate the evolution of accretion luminosity $L_{\rm acc}$ and stellar luminosity ${L_\ast}$ in pre-mainsequence stars. We make the assumption that when the star appears as a Class II object, the major phase of accretion is long…
Classical T Tauri stars are young low-mass systems still accreting material from their disks. These systems are dynamic on timescales of hours to years. The observed variability can help us infer the physical processes that occur in the…
We present a study of protoplanetary disks in spatially resolved low-mass binary stars in the Orion Nebula Cluster (ONC) to assess the impact of binarity on the properties of circumstellar disks. This is currently the largest such study in…
An enigmatic and rare type of young stellar object is the FU Orionis class. The members are interpreted as "outbursting," that is, currently in a state of enhanced accretion by several orders of magnitude relative to the more modest…
We model the mass accretion rate $\dot{M}$ to stellar mass $M_*$ correlation that has been inferred from observations of intermediate to upper mass T Tauri stars---that is $\dot{M} \propto M_*^{1.3 \pm 0.3}$. We explain this correlation…
Since Protostars and Planets VI (PPVI), our knowledge of the global properties of protoplanetary and debris disks, as well as of young stars, has dramatically improved. At the time of PPVI, mm-observations and optical to near-infrared…
Young stars and planetary systems form in molecular clouds. For classical T Tauri stars (CTTS, F-K type precursors) the accretion disk does not reach down to the central star, but it is truncated near the co-rotation radius. The inner edge…
The Galactic centre hosts, according to observations, a number of early-type stars. About one half of those which are orbiting the central supermassive black hole on orbits with projected radii $\gtrsim$ 0.03 pc form a coherently rotating…
(Abridged) We have completed the first systematic survey for disks around spectroscopically identified young brown dwarfs and very low mass stars. We have obtained L'-band (3.8 um) imaging for 38 very cool objects in IC 348 and Taurus. Our…
We investigate the evolution of circumstellar discs around T Tauri stars that are ejected from small stellar clusters within molecular clouds. In particular, we study how the interaction that leads to ejection may hasten the transition…
Two decades ago "transitional disks" described spectral energy distributions (SEDs) of T Tauri stars with small near-IR excesses, but significant mid- and far-IR excesses. Many inferred this indicated dust-free holes in disks, possibly…
We analyze samples of Spitzer Infrared Spectrograph (IRS) spectra of T Tauri stars in the Ophiuchus, Taurus, and Chamaeleon I star-forming regions, whose median ages lie in the <1 to 2 Myr range. The median mid-infrared spectra of objects…
We present a high spatial resolution, 10-20 micron survey of 65 T Tauri binary stars in Taurus, Ophiuchus, and Corona Australis using the Keck 10 m telescopes. Designed to probe the inner ~1 AU region of the circumstellar disks around the…
We present numerical solutions of the collapse of prestellar cores that lead to the formation and evolution of circumstellar disks. The disk evolution is then followed for up to three million years. A variety of models of different initial…
(Abridged) High dispersion spectrographs on large aperture telescopes have recently allowed observers to study the stellar and accretion properties of deeply embedded young stars, commonly referred to as Class I stars. We summarize these…
Transition disks form a special class of protoplanetary disks that are characterized by a deficiency of disk material close to the star. In a subgroup, inner holes in these disks can stretch out to a few tens of au while there is still mass…
The accretion of material from protoplanetary disks onto their central stars is a fundamental process in the evolution of these systems and a key diagnostic in constraining the disk lifetime. We analyze the relationship between the stellar…
Accretion is one of the defining characteristics of classical T Tauri stars, fueled by the presence of a circumstellar disk comprised of dust and gas. Accretion produces a UV and optical excess, while re-radiated emission at the inner edge…
Accretion onto Classical T Tauri stars is thought to take place through the action of magnetospheric processes, with gas in the inner disk being channeled onto the star's surface by the stellar magnetic field lines. Young stars are known to…
It has recently been noted that many discs around T Tauri stars appear to comprise only a few Jupiter-masses of gas and dust. Using millimetre surveys of discs within six local star-formation regions, we confirm this result, and find that…