Related papers: Polarization of circumstellar debris disk light ec…
Light echoes offer a means of studying protoplanetary disks, including their geometry and composition, even when they are not spatially resolved. We present a test of this approach applied specifically to optically thick, geometrically…
The dust in protoplanetary disks is an important ingredient in planet formation and can be investigated with model simulations and quantitative imaging polarimetry of the scattered stellar light. This study explores circumstellar disks with…
Exoplanets orbiting M dwarf stars are a prime target in the search for life in the Universe. M dwarf stars are active, with powerful flares that could adversely impact prospects for life, though there are counter-arguments. Here, we turn…
Light echoes of stellar flares provide an intriguing option for exploring protoplanetary disks in young stellar systems. Previous work on light echoes of circumstellar disks made use of delta-function flares for modeling. We present a new…
Polarimetric observations of T Tauri and Herbig Ae/Be stars are a powerful way to image protoplanetary disks. However, interpretation of these images is difficult because the degree of polarization is highly sensitive to the angle of…
There are growing amount of very high-resolution polarized scattered light images of circumstellar disks. Nascent giant planets planets are surrounded by their own circumplanetary disks which may scatter and polarize both the planetary and…
Debris disks give us the unique opportunity to probe the properties of small $\mu$m-sized particles, allowing us to peer into the constituents of their parent bodies, young analogs of comets and asteroids of our solar system. In the past,…
Dust particles are the building blocks from which planetary bodies are made. A major goal of the studies of planet-forming disks is to constrain the properties of dust particles and aggregates in order to trace their origin, structure, and…
Light echoes of flares on active stars offer the opportunity for direct detection of circumstellar dust. We revisit the problem of identifying faint echoes in post-flare light curves, focusing on debris disks from on-going planet formation.…
High-contrast scattered light observations have revealed the surface morphology of several dozens of protoplanetary disks at optical and near-infrared wavelengths. Inclined disks offer the opportunity to measure part of the phase function…
Debris disks or belts are important signposts for the presence of colliding planetesimals and, therefore, for ongoing planet formation and evolution processes in young planetary systems. Imaging of debris material at small separations from…
The $Herschel$ Space telescope carried out an unprecedented survey of nearby stars for debris disks. The dust present in these debris disks scatters and polarizes stellar light in the visible part of the spectrum. We explore what can be…
We review recent progress in high-resolution imaging of scattered light from disks around young stellar objects. Many new disks have been discovered or imaged in scattered light, and improved instrumentation and observing techniques have…
Diverse protoplanetary disk morphology can result from planet-disk interaction, suggesting planetary presence. To date, most scattered light imaging campaigns have probed polarized light, which is only a fraction of the total light and not…
We study the benefits of polarimetry observations of microlensing events to detect and characterize circumstellar disks around the microlensed stars located at the Galactic bulge. These disks which are unresolvable from their host stars…
Ground-based high-contrast instruments have yielded reflected light images of protoplanetary disks. Quantitative measurements of the reflected radiation provide strong constraints on the scattering dust which can clarify the dust particle…
The scattering properties of the dust originating from debris discs are still poorly known. The analysis of scattered light is however a powerful remote-sensing tool to understand the physical properties of dust particles orbiting other…
Scattered light echoes from variable and cataclysmic stars offer one of the most effective means to probe the structure and composition of circumtellar and interstellar media. I build a simple model of light-echo surface brightness by…
The investigation of polarized light of protoplanetary disks is key for constraining the dust properties, disk morphology and embedded magnetic fields. However, different polarization mechanisms and the diversity of dust grain shapes and…
We present the detectability of strong mid-infrared (MIR) light echoes from faint debris disks illuminated by bright superflares of M-dwarf stars. Circumstellar dust grains around an M-dwarf star are simultaneously heated by superflare…