Related papers: An Observational Perspective of Transitional Disks
Protoplanetary disks surrounding young stars are the birth place of planets. Of particular interest are the transition disks with large inner dust cavities of tens of au, hinting at the presence of massive companions. These cavities were…
Transitional discs are a special type of protoplanetary discs where planet formation is thought to be taking place. These objects feature characteristic inner cavities and/or gaps of a few tens of AUs in the sub-millimitre images of the…
Understanding disk evolution and dissipation is essential for studies of planet formation. Transition disks, i.e., disks with large dust cavities and gaps, are promising candidates of active evolution. About two dozen SED-selected…
Transition discs are protoplanetary discs that show evidence for large holes or wide gaps (with widths comparable to their radii) in their dust component. These discs could be giving us clues about the disc destruction mechanism or hints…
[abridged] Protoplanetary disks with AU-scale inner clearings, often referred to as transitional disks, provide a unique sample for understanding disk dissipation mechanisms and possible connections to planet formation. Observations of…
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…
Transitional and pre--transitional disks can be explained by a number of mechanisms. This work aims to find a single observationally detectable marker that would imply a planetary origin for the gap and, therefore, indirectly indicate the…
Transition disks with small inner dust cavities are interesting targets for the study of disk clearing mechanisms. Such disks have been identified through a deficit in the infrared part of their SED, but spatially resolved millimeter…
Transitional disks are protoplanetary disks around young stars, with inner holes or gaps which are surrounded by optically thick outer, and often inner, disks. Here we present observations of 62 new transitional disks in the Orion A…
Photoevaporative disc winds play a key role in our understanding of circumstellar disc evolution, especially in the final stages, and they might affect the planet formation process and the final location of planets. The study of transition…
Although there has yet been no undisputed discovery of a still-forming planet embedded in a gaseous protoplanetary disk, the cleared inner holes of transitional disks may be signposts of young planets. Here we show that the subset of…
During the past five years, the Spitzer Space Telescope and improved ground-based facilities have enabled a huge increase in the number of circumstellar disks, around young stars of Solar mass or smaller, in which the composition of the…
In the past few years, several disks with inner holes that are empty of small dust grains have been detected and are known as transitional disks. Recently, Spitzer has identified a new class of "pre-transitional disks" with gaps; these…
We investigate under what circumstances an embedded planet in a protoplanetary disc may sculpt the dust distribution such that it observationally presents as a `transition' disc. We concern ourselves with `transition' discs that have large…
Circumstellar disks are thought to experience a rapid "transition" phase in their evolution that can have a considerable impact on the formation and early development of planetary systems. We present new and archival high angular resolution…
Circumstellar disks are the sites of planet formation, and the very high incidence of extrasolar planets implies that most of them actually form planetary systems. Studying the structure and evolution of protoplanetary disks can thus place…
Our understanding of protoplanetary disks has greatly improved over the last decade due to a wealth of data from new facilities. Unbiased dust surveys with Spitzer leave us with good constraints on the dust dispersal timescale of small…
Protoplanetary discs are now routinely observed and exoplanets, after the numerous indirect discoveries, are starting to be directly imaged. To better understand the planet formation process, the next step is the detection of forming…
The disks that orbit young stars are the essential conduits and reservoirs of material for star and planet formation. Their structures, meaning the spatial variations of the disk physical conditions, reflect the underlying mechanisms that…
Circumstellar disks are characteristic for star formation and vanish during the first few Myr of stellar evolution. During this time planets are believed to form in the dense midplane by growth, sedimentation and aggregation of dust.…