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Paper: Identifying Planet-Forming Disks Around Young Stars
Volume: 472, New Quests in Stellar Astrophysics III: A Panchromatic View of Solar-like Stars, With and Without Planets
Page: 13
Authors: Espaillat, C.
Abstract: In the past few years, several disks with inner holes that are relatively empty of small dust grains have been detected and are known as transitional disks. Spitzer identified a new class of “pre-transitional disks" with gaps; these objects have an optically thick inner disk separated from an optically thick outer disk by an optically thin disk gap. Here we review spectral observations which provided the first confirmations of gaps in the pre-transitional disks of LkCa 15 and UX Tau A. We also review the results of a Spitzer IRS study of variability in transitional and pre-transitional objects. The structure and behavior of pre-transitional and transitional disks may be a sign of young planets forming in these disks and future studies of these disks will provide constraints to aid in theoretical modeling of planet formation.
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