The Structure of Disks around Young Intermediate-Mass Stars

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In this project, Dr. Charles Telesco of the University of Florida will use sensitive infrared detectors on large telescopes to study a sample of disks surrounding very young stars of the Herbig Ae/Be type. These stars are typically a few times more massive than our Sun. This study will concentrate on systems that are less than a few million years in age. Thermal ("heat") imaging and spectroscopy will probe dust particles heated by the parent stars. This will trace the conditions in regions that are comparable in size to our Solar System, and will by extension provide information on the birth of planetary systems. There are several goals to this investigation, including the study of disk morphology, the properties of grain materials in the disk, the growth of dust particles and how these settle to the mid-plane of the disk, and the evolutionary connection between various types of disks. Determining the detailed structure of circumstellar disks is expected to reveal where planets are forming or will form, the state of the matter that is involved in that process, and how disks may interact with planets early in their lives. The program will expose University of Florida graduate students to research on large telescopes, state-of the art instrumentation, and the dynamics of international collaboration.