Hostname: page-component-848d4c4894-ttngx Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-05-27T10:56:46.662Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

SpS1-Dust and gas clearing in transitional disks

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  21 October 2010

Joanna M. Brown*
Affiliation:
Max-Planck-Institut für extraterrestrische Physik, Garching bei München, Germany
Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Extract

Core share and HTML view are not available for this content. However, as you have access to this content, a full PDF is available via the ‘Save PDF’ action button.

Understanding how disks dissipate is essential to studies of planet formation. Infrared observations of young stars demonstrate that optically-thick circumstellar disks disappear from around half the stars in low-mass star-forming regions by an age of 3 Myr and are almost entirely absent in 10 Myr old associations (e.g. Haisch et al., 2001). Accretion ceases on the same approximate timescale (e.g. Calvet et al. 2005). The disappearence of gas and dust - planetary building material - places stringent limits on the timescales of giant planet formation. During this crucial interval, planet(esimal)s form and the remaining disk material is accreted or dispersed. Mid-infrared spectrophotometry of protoplanetary disks has revealed a small sub-class of objects in the midst of losing their disk material. These disks have spectral energy distributions (SEDs) suggestive of large inner gaps with low dust content, often interpreted as a signature of young planets. Such objects are still rare although Spitzer surveys have significantly increased the number of known transitional objects (e.g. Brown et al. 2007, D'Alessio et al., 2005). However, spectrophotometric signatures are indirect and notoriously difficult to interpret as multiple physical scenarios can result in the same SED. Recent direct imaging from millimeter interferometry has confirmed the presence of large inner holes in transitional disks, providing additional constraints and lending confidence to current SED interpretations (Brown et al. 2008, Brown et al. 2009, Andrews et al. 2009, Isella et al., 2009).

Type
Contributed Papers
Copyright
Copyright © International Astronomical Union 2010

References

Andrews, S. M., Wilner, D. J., Hughes, A. M., Qi, C., & Dullemond, C. P., 2009, ApJ, 700, 1502CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Brown, J. M. et al. , 2007, ApJL, 664, L107CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Brown, J. M., Blake, G. A., Qi, C., Dullemond, C. P., & Wilner, D. J., 2008, ApJL, 675, L109CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Brown, J. M., Blake, G. A., Qi, C., Dullemond, C. P., Wilner, D. J., & Williams, J. P., 2009, ApJ, 704, 496CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Calvet, N. et al. , 2005, AJ, 129, 935CrossRefGoogle Scholar
D'Alessio, P. et al. 2005, ApJ, 621, 461CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Haisch, K. E. Jr., Lada, E. A., & Lada, C. J., 2001, ApJL, 553, L153CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Isella, A., Carpenter, J. M., & Sargent, A. I., 2009, ApJ, 701, 260CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pontoppidan, K. M., Blake, G. A., van Dishoeck, E. F., Smette, A., Ireland, M. J., & Brown, J., 2008, ApJ, 684, 1323CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Salyk, C., Blake, G. A., Boogert, A. C. A., & Brown, J. M., 2009, ApJ, 699, 330CrossRefGoogle Scholar