Related papers: An Observational Perspective of Transitional Disks
A large set of Spitzer-selected transitional disks in the Ophiuchus molecular cloud was recently examined by Cieza et al (2010), and 4 of the targets were identified as (giant) planet-forming candidates based on the morphology of their…
The past 5 years have dramatically changed our view of the disks of gas and dust around young stars. Observations with the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) and extreme adaptive optics systems have revealed that disks are…
Transitional disks represent a short stage of the evolution of circumstellar material. Studies of dust grains in these objects can provide pivotal information on the mechanisms of planet formation. Dissimilarities in the spatial…
I describe new constraints on the lifetimes and morphologies of transitional protoplanetary disks from observations of 1--10 Myr old stars with the \textit{Spitzer Space Telescope}. New Spitzer results clearly show evidence for two kinds of…
Over the past decade, advancement of observational capabilities, specifically the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) and SPHERE instrument, alongside theoretical innovations like pebble accretion, have reshaped our…
Transitional disks around young stars are promising candidates to look for recently formed, embedded planets. Planet-disk interaction models predict that planets clear a gap in the gas while trapping dust at larger radii. Other physical…
Main sequence stars are commonly surrounded by debris disks, composed of cold dust continuously replenished by a reservoir of undetected dust-producing planetesimals. In a planetary system with a belt of planetesimals (like the Solar…
Detailed radial/vertical structure modeling of observations of disks around Young Stellar Objects (YSOs) can provide information on the physical conditions and on the characteristics of the gas and dust in their interiors. We describe…
With the Keck Interferometer, we have studied at 2 um the innermost regions of several nearby, young, dust depleted "transitional" disks. Our observations target five of the six clearest cases of transitional disks in the Taurus/Auriga…
Circumstellar disks are an integral part of the star formation process and the sites where planets are formed. Understanding the physical processes that drive their evolution, as disks evolve from optically thick to optically thin, is…
We investigate the nature of the innermost regions of seven circumstellar disks around pre-main-sequence stars. Our object sample contains disks apparently at various stages of their evolution. Both single stars and spatially resolved…
As the earliest stage of planet formation, massive, optically thick, and gas rich protoplanetary disks provide key insights into the physics of star and planet formation. When viewed edge-on, high resolution images offer a unique…
One of the most important questions in the field of planet formation is how mm-cm sized dust particles overcome the radial drift and fragmentation barriers to form kilometer-sized planetesimals. ALMA observations of protoplanetary disks, in…
Discs of gas and dust around Myr-old stars are a by-product of the star formation process and provide the raw material to form planets. Hence, their evolution and dispersal directly impact what type of planets can form and affect the final…
Transition disks with large dust cavities around young stars are promising targets for studying planet formation. Previous studies have revealed the presence of gas cavities inside the dust cavities hinting at recently formed, giant…
We explore the chemical structure of a disk that contains a large central gap of R ~ 45 AU, as is commonly seen in transitional disk systems. In our chemical model of a disk with a cleared inner void, the midplane becomes revealed to the…
The late stages of evolution of the primordial circumstellar disks surrounding young stars are poorly understood, yet vital to constrain theories of planet formation. We consider basic structural models for the disks around two ~10 Myr-old…
Transitional disks are protoplanetary disks with opacity gaps/cavities in their dust distribution, a feature that may be linked to planet formation. We perform Bayesian modeling of the three transitional disks SZ Cha, CS Cha and T25…
Transition disks have dust-depleted inner regions and may represent an intermediate step of an on-going disk dispersal process, where planet formation is probably in progress. Recent millimetre observations of transition disks reveal…
Many members of nearby young moving groups exhibit infrared excess attributed to circumstellar debris dust, formed via erosion of planetesimals. With their proximity and well-dated ages, these groups are excellent laboratories for studying…