This contribution reviews results from interferometric observations of circumstellar disks around young stars of $\lesssim$3 M$_{\odot}$, performed with the MIDI instrument operating in the 10 $μ$m spectral region. Two main topics, the disk structure on $\sim$1-10 AU scales and the dust properties in the same region, are illustrated with several examples of MIDI studies, covering various evolutionary stages. The spatially resolved observations largely confirm SED-only based hypotheses on disk structure, yet also reveal degeneracies that may occur in such SED modeling. The properties of the dust on the disk surface show a strong radial dependence: the dust close to the central star has generally larger grain sizes and in particular a much higher crystallinity than the dust in more remote disk regions.
The study of Young Stellar Objects (YSOs) is one of the most exciting topics that can be undertaken by long baseline optical interferometry. The magnitudes of these objects are at the edge of capabilities of current optical interferometers, limiting the studies to a few dozen, but are well within the capability of coming large aperture interferometers like the VLT Interferometer, the Keck Interferometer, the Large Binocular Telescope or 'OHANA. The milli-arcsecond spatial resolution reached by interferometry probes the very close environment of young stars, down to a tenth of an astronomical u…
We present synthetic images of disks around T Tauri stars. We calculate visibility curves in order to study the possibility of directly detecting thermal emission from T Tauri disks. Total fluxes of T Tauri disks are compared to the sensitivity of VISA, the interferometric sub-array of the European Very Large Telescope. We conclude that thermal emission from circumstellar disk around T Tauri stars is detectable with current or soon-to-be interferometric techniques at wavelengths longer than 2.2 microns.
We have computed theoretical models of circumstellar disks for the classical Be stars $κ$ Dra, $β$ Psc, and $\upsilon$ Cyg. Models were constructed using a non-LTE radiative transfer code developed by \citet{sig07} which incorporates a number of improvements over previous treatments of the disk thermal structure, including a realistic chemical composition. Our models are constrained by direct comparison with long baseline optical interferometric observations of the H$α$ emitting regions and by contemporaneous H$α$ line profiles. Detailed comparisons of our predictions with H$α$ interferometry …
We present bispectrum speckle interferometry and speckle polarimetry of the deeply embedded infrared bipolar outflow source S140 IRS1, a massive protostellar object in the L1204 molecular cloud. Using the SAO 6 m telescope, we obtained 280 mas resolution polarization maps of S140 IRS1 as well as a K-band image with diffraction-limited resolution lambda/D of 76 mas, which is the highest angular resolution image of a young outflow source ever obtained in the infrared. Our data suggest that the central source is marginally resolved with a FWHM diameter of approximately 20 mas (~ 20 AU). The most …
I review the results obtained by long-baseline interferometry at infrared wavelengths on the innermost regions around young stars. These observations directly probe the location of the dust and gas in the disks. The characteristic sizes of these regions found are larger than previously thought. These results have motivated in part a new class of models of the inner disk structure. However the precise understanding of the origin of these low visibilities is still in debate. Mid-infrared observations have probed disk emission over a larger range of scales revealing mineralogy gradients in the di…
We studied the geometry of the inner (AU-scale) circumstellar environment around the Herbig Be star MWC 147. Combining, for the first time, near- (NIR, K band) and mid-infrared (MIR, N band) spectro-interferometry on a Herbig star, our VLTI/MIDI and AMBER data constrain not only the geometry of the brightness distribution, but also the radial temperature distribution in the disk. For our detailed modeling of the interferometric data and the spectral energy distribution, we employ 2-D radiation transfer simulations, showing that passive irradiated Keplerian dust disks can easily fit the SED, bu…
The Herbig Ae/Be star LkHalpha 101 has been imaged at high angular resolution at a number of wavelengths in the near-infrared (from 1 to 3 microns) using the Keck 1 Telescope, and also observed in the mid-infrared (11.15 microns) using the U.C. Berkeley Infrared Spatial Interferometer (ISI). The resolved circular disk with a central hole or cavity reported in Tuthill et al. (2001) is confirmed. This is consistent with an almost face-on view (inclination < 35 deg) onto a luminous pre- or early-main sequence object surrounded by a massive circumstellar disk. With a multiple-epoch study spanning …
We review recent advances in our understanding of the innermost regions of the circumstellar environment around young stars, made possible by the technique of long baseline interferometry at infrared wavelengths. Near-infrared observations directly probe the location of the hottest dust. The characteristic sizes found are much larger than previously thought, and strongly correlate with the luminosity of the central young stars. This relation has motivated in part a new class of models of the inner disk structure. The first mid-infrared observations have probed disk emission over a larger range…
The very inner structure of massive young stellar objects (YSOs) is difficult to trace. With conventional observational methods we identify structures still several hundreds of AU in size. However, the (proto-)stellar growth takes place at the innermost regions (<100 AU) where the actual mass transfer onto the forming high-mass star occurs. We present results from our programme toward massive YSOs at the VLTI, utilising the two-element interferometer MIDI. To date, we observed 10 well-known massive YSOs down to scales of 20 mas (typically corresponding to 20 - 40 AU for our targets) in the 8-1…
For young Herbig Ae/Be stars, near-infrared interferometric measurements have revealed a correlation between the luminosity of the central object and the position of the disk inner rim. This correlation breaks down for the cooler T Tauri stars, a fact often interpreted in terms of disks with larger inner radii. In most cases, the conversion between the observed interferometric visibility and the calculated disk inner radius was done with a crude disk emission model. Here, we examine how the use of models that neglect scattered light can lead to an overestimation of the disk sizes. To do so, sy…
We present comprehensive models for the Herbig Ae stars MWC275 and AB Aur that aim to explain their spectral energy distribution (from UV to millimeter) and long baseline interferometry (from near-infrared to millimeter) simultaneously. Data from the literature, combined with new mid-infrared (MIR) interferometry from the Keck Segment Tilting Experiment, are modeled using an axisymmetric Monte Carlo radiative transfer code. Models in which most of the near-infrared (NIR) emission arises from a dust rim fail to fit the NIR spectral energy distribution (SED) and sub-milli-arcsecond NIR CHARA int…
We present the results of 10 micron nulling interferometric observations of 13 Herbig Ae stars using the Magellan I (Baade) and the MMT 6.5 m telescopes. A portion of the observations was completed with the adaptive secondary at the MMT. We have conclusively spatially resolved 3 of the 13 stars, HD 100546, AB Aur, and HD 179218, the latter two recently resolved using adaptive optics in combination with nulling interferometry. For the resolved objects we find that the 10 $μ$m emitting regions have a spatial extent of 15-30 AU in diameter. We also have some evidence for resolved emission surroun…
We present the results of bispectrum speckle interferometry of the B[e] star MWC 349A obtained with the SAO 6m telescope. Our diffraction-limited J-, H-, and K-band images (resolutions 43--74 mas) suggest the star is surrounded by a circumstellar disk seen almost edge-on. The observed visibility shape is consistent with a two-component elliptical disk model, probably corresponding to the gaseous and dusty components of the disk. We show that the classification of the object as a pre-main-sequence star or a young planetary nebula is problematic. An analysis of the uncertainties in the basic par…
We study the geometry and the physical conditions in the inner (AU-scale) circumstellar region around the young Herbig Be star MWC 147 using long-baseline spectro-interferometry in the near-infrared (NIR K-band, VLTI/AMBER observations and PTI archive data) as well as the mid-infrared (MIR N-band, VLTI/MIDIobservations). The emission from MWC 147 is clearly resolved and has a characteristic physical size of approx. 1.3 AU and 9 AU at 2.2 micron and 11 micron respectively (Gaussian diameter). The spectrally dispersed AMBER and MIDI interferograms both show a strong increase in the characteristi…
Interferometric observations of two well-known Be stars, gamma Cas and phi Per, were collected and analyzed to determine the spatial characteristics of their circumstellar regions. The observations were obtained using the Navy Prototype Optical Interferometer equipped with custom-made narrowband filters. The filters isolate the H-alpha emission line from the nearby continuum radiation, which results in an increased contrast between the interferometric signature due to the H-alpha-emitting circumstellar region and the central star. Because the narrowband filters do not significantly attenuate t…
We present numerical simulations for a possible synthesis imaging mode of the Space Interferometer Mission (SIM). We summarize the general techniques that SIM offers to perform imaging of high surface brightness sources, and discuss their strengths and weaknesses. We describe an interactive software package that is used to provide realistic, photometrically correct estimates of SIM performance for various classes of astronomical objects. In particular, we simulate the cases of gaseous disks around black holes in the nuclei of galaxies, and zodiacal dust disks around young stellar objects. Rega…
Physical models of circumstellar disks surrounding pre-main sequence stars are currently constrained primarily by the spectral energy distribution (SED) of the system. Here we present first results from a survey of nearby Herbig Ae stars using nulling interferometry. We measure the spatial extent of the mid-IR emission for the stars HD 150193, HD 163296, and HD 179218. The results indicate the size of mid-infrared emission around Herbig Ae stars may be much smaller than current models predict. The observations constrain ~90% of the 10 micron flux to be within an approximately 20 AU diameter re…
Recent surveys have identified sub-stellar objects down to planetary masses in nearby star-forming regions. Reliable determination of the disk frequency in young brown dwarfs is of paramount importance to understanding their origin. Here we report the results of a systematic study of infrared L'-band (3.8-micron) disk excess in ~50 spectroscopically confirmed objects near and below the sub-stellar boundary in several young clusters. Our observations, using the ESO Very Large Telescope, Keck I and the NASA Infrared Telescope Facility, reveal that a significant fraction of brown dwarfs harbor di…
We observed the embedded, young 8--10 Msun star AFGL 490 at subarcsecond resolution with the Plateau de Bure Interferometer in the C17O (2--1) transition and found convincing evidence that AFGL 490 is surrounded by a rotating disk. Using two-dimensional modeling of the physical and chemical disk structure coupled to line radiative transfer, we constrain its basic parameters. We obtain a relatively high disk mass of 1 Msun and a radius of ~ 1500 AU. A plausible explanation for the apparent asymmetry of the disk morphology is given.
Studies of disks around young brown dwarfs are of paramount importance to our understanding of the origin, diversity and early evolution of sub-stellar objects. Here we present first results from a systematic search for disk emission in a spectroscopically confirmed sample of young objects near or below the sub-stellar boundary in a variety of star-forming regions. Our VLT and Keck L'-band observations of the sigma Orionis and TW Hydrae associations suggest that if a majority of brown dwarfs are born with disks, at least the inner regions of those disks evolve rapidly, possibly clearing out wi…
Hundreds of circumstellar disks in the Orion nebula are being rapidly destroyed by the intense ultraviolet radiation produced by nearby bright stars. These young, million-year-old disks may not survive long enough to form planetary systems. Nevertheless, the first stage of planet formation -- the growth of dust grains into larger particles -- may have begun in these systems. Observational evidence for these large particles in Orion's disks is presented. A model of grain evolution in externally irradiated protoplanetary disks is developed and predicts rapid particle size evolution and sharp out…
The majority of stars in known star-forming regions are located in binary systems. Although the separation distribution of these populations varies from one region to another, most peak between a few and several tens of AU. Given the >100 AU distance to the youngest regions, binaries with this separation range are also the most poorly studied. In general, only for about 60 young pairs have the circumstellar disks and the stellar properties been well-characterized. We discuss results of recent analyses of inner and outer disk properties, summarize the status of observations of disk orientations…
Kant and Laplace suggested the Solar System formed from a rotating gaseous disk in the 18th century, but convincing evidence that young stars are indeed surrounded by such disks was not presented for another 200 years. As we move into the 21st century the emphasis is now on disk formation, the role of disks in star formation, and on how planets form in those disks. Radio wavelengths play a key role in these studies, currently providing some of the highest spatial resolution images of disks, along with evidence of the growth of dust grains into planetesimals. The future capabilities of EVLA and…
We report on the detection of four rotating massive disks in two regions of high-mass star formation. The disks are perpendicular to known bipolar outflows and turn out to be unstable but long lived. We infer that accretion onto the embedded (proto)stars must proceed through the disks with rates of ~10E-2 Msun/yr.
A question central to understanding the origin of our solar system is: how do planets form in circumstellar disks around young stars? Because of the complex nature of the physical processes involved, multi-wavelength observations of large samples will be required in order to obtain a complete answer to this question. Surveys undertaken with ISO have helped to solve pieces of this puzzle in addition to uncovering new mysteries. We review a variety of studies aimed at understanding; i) the physical structure and composition of circumstellar disks commonly found surrounding young stellar objects;…
We present some results from a systematic survey for disks around spectroscopically identified young brown dwarfs and very low mass stars. We find that ~75% of our sample show intrinsic IR excesses, indicative of circum(sub)stellar disks. The observed excesses are correlated with Halpha emission, consistent with a common disk accretion origin. Because the excesses are modest, conventional analyses using only IR colors would have missed most of the sources with disks. In the same star-forming regions, we find that disks around brown dwarfs and T Tauri stars are contemporaneous; assuming coevali…
Interpretation of molecular line observations in tenuous circumstellar disks around young G-type stars in terms of a disk mass is difficult without a model that describes the chemical structure of these disks. This paper now discusses the chemistry in tenuous disks around young solar-type stars based on disk models that take into account the presence of a stellar chromosphere. The example of the disk around a 70 Myr old solar-type star shows that the dissociating radiation from the chromosphere is stronger than the interstellar ultraviolet radiation field up to a distance of ~400 AU from the s…
We discuss the importance of accretion in calculating disk models for young stellar objects. In particular, we show that a disk inner rim, irradiated by both the star and the accretion shocks at the stellar surface, can naturally explain recent observations of DG Tau with the Keck interferometer. We present models for two objects, with mass accretion rates differing by almost two orders of magnitude, to illustrate the effects of accretion on the overall disk structure and emission.
Pulsars are rotating, magnetized neutron stars that are born in supernova explosions following the collapse of the cores of massive stars. If some of the explosion ejecta fails to escape, it may fall back onto the neutron star or it may possess sufficient angular momentum to form a disk. Such 'fallback' is both a general prediction of current supernova models and, if the material pushes the neutron star over its stability limit, a possible mode of black hole formation. Fallback disks could dramatically affect the early evolution of pulsars, yet there are few observational constraints on whethe…
This contribution gives an overview about various applications of (sub)mm interferometry in star formation research. The topics covered are molecular outflows, accretion disks, fragmentation and chemical properties of low- and high-mass star-forming regions. A short outlook on the capabilities of ALMA is given as well.
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 led to better disk images at optical, near-infrared, and thermal-infrared wavelengths. Multi-wavelength datasets are particularly valuable, as dust particle properties have wavelength dependencies. Modeling the changes in scattered-light images with wavelength gives direct information on the dust properties. This has now been done for several different disks. …
We present new L' (3.8-micron) observations of stars in the nearby (~97 pc) young (~6 Myr) compact cluster around eta Chamaeleontis, obtained with the European Southern Observatory's Very Large Telescope in Paranal, Chile. Our data, combined with J,H, Ks photometry from the 2-Micron All Sky Survey, reveal that only two of the 12 members surveyed harbor L'-band excesses consistent with optically thick inner disks; both are also likely accretors. Intriguingly, two other stars with possible evidence for on-going accretion, albeit at very low rates, do not show significant infrared excess: this ma…
Given their proximity and age differences, nearby groups of young stars are valuable laboratories for investigations of disk evolution and diversity. The estimated 10-Myr age of groups like the TW Hydrae Association provides a strong constraint on disk evolution timescales and fills a significant gap in the age sequence between 1-Myr-old T Tauri stars in molecular clouds and 50-Myr-old nearby open clusters. I review the results of recent and on-going studies of dusty disks in three nearby groups --TW Hya, $η$ Cha and MBM 12-- that suggest rapid evolution of inner disks. However, it is unlikely…
We present K-band polarimetric images of several massive young stellar objects at resolutions $\sim$ 0.1-0.5 arcsec. The polarization vectors around these sources are nearly centro-symmetric, indicating they are dominating the illumination of each field. Three out of the four sources show elongated low-polarization structures passing through the centers, suggesting the presence of polarization disks. These structures and their surrounding reflection nebulae make up bipolar outflow/disk systems, supporting the collapse/accretion scenario as their low-mass siblings. In particular, S140 IRS1 show…
A radiation-driven disk wind model is proposed that offers great promise of explaining the extreme mass loss signatures of massive young stellar objects (the BN-type objects and more luminous Herbig Be stars). It is argued that the dense low-velocity winds associated with young late-O/early-B stars would be the consequence of continuing optically-thick accretion onto them. The launch of outflow from a Keplerian disk allows wind speeds of about 200 km/s that are substantially less than the escape speed from the stellar surface. The star itself is not required to be a rapid rotator. Disk irradia…
We present new proper motions from the 10 m Keck telescopes for a puzzling population of massive, young stars located within 3.5" (0.14 pc) of the supermassive black hole at the Galactic Center. Our proper motion measurements have uncertainties of only 0.07 mas/yr (3 km/s), which is ~7 times better than previous proper motion measurements for these stars, and enables us to measure accelerations as low as 0.2 mas/yr^2 (7 km/s/yr). Using these measurements, line-of-sight velocities from the literature, and 3D velocities for additional young stars in the central parsec, we constrain the true orbi…
The characterization of gas in the inner disks around young stars is of particular interest because of its connection to planet formation. In order to study the gas in inner disks, we have obtained high-resolution K-band and M-band spectroscopy of 14 intermediate mass young stars. In sources that have optically thick inner disks, i.e. E(K-L)>1, our detection rate of the ro-vibrational CO transitions is 100% and the gas is thermally excited. Of the five sources that do not have optically thick inner disks, we only detect the ro-vibrational CO transitions from HD 141569. In this case, we show th…
The sigma Orionis cluster is a young association evolving under the disruptive influence of its massive O-star namesake. We are analysing this cluster as part of a program to characterise the influence of O-stars on the early stages of stellar evolution. At an age of approximately 4 Myr, this cluster is at a crucial stage in terms of disk evolution and therefore it is a key case to better constrain disk dissipation timescales. We have obtained RI photometry and optical spectroscopy of the sigma Ori cluster; we have analysed the Li I and Na I features to establish cluster membership. We have th…
We present mid-infrared photometry of three very young brown dwarfs located in the $ρ$ Ophiuchi star-forming region -- GY5, GY11 and GY310 --obtained with the Subaru 8-meter telescope. All three sources were detected at 8.6 and 11.7$μ$m, confirming the presence of significant mid-infrared excess arising from optically thick dusty disks. The spectral energy distributions of both GY310 and GY11 exhibit strong evidence of flared disks; flat disks can be ruled out for these two brown dwarfs. The data for GY5 show large scatter, and are marginally consistent with both flared and flat configurations…
Keck adaptive optics imaging with a physical resolution of 0.4 AU resolves the inner (15-80 AU) disk of AU Mic (GJ 803), the nearest known scattered light disk to Earth. The inner disk is asymmetric and possesses a sharp change in structure at 35 AU. The disk also shows spatially localized enhancements and deficits at 25-40 AU separations. The overall morphology points to the influence of unseen larger bodies and resembles structures expected from recent planet formation. AU Mic is coeval with the archetypical debris disk system beta Pic, and the similarities between their two disks point to s…
We present millimeter-wave continuum images of four wide (separations 210-800 AU) young stellar binary systems in the Taurus-Auriga star-forming region. For all four sources, the resolution of our observations is sufficient to determine the mm emission from each of the components. In all four systems, the primary star's disk has stronger millimeter emission than the secondary and in three of the four, the secondary is undetected; this is consistent with predictions of recent models of binary formation by fragmentation. The primaries' circumstellar disk masses inferred from these observations a…
Disks are a natural outcome of the star formation process in which they play a crucial role. Luminous, massive stars of spectral type earlier than B4 are likely to be those that benefit most from the existence of accretion disks, which may significantly reduce the effect of radiation pressure on the accreting material. The scope of the present contribution is to review the current knowledge about disks in young high-mass (proto)stars and discuss their implications. The issues of disk stability and lifetime are also discussed. We conclude that for protostars of less than ~20 solar masses, disks…
Astronomical observations of flares from analogs of the early Sun have the potential to give critical insights into the high energy irradiation environment of protoplanetary disks. Solar-mass young stellar objects are significantly more X-ray luminous than the typical low-mass T Tauri star. They undergo frequent strong flaring on a several day time scale. Very powerful flares also occur, but on a longer time frame. The hard X-ray spectrum of these stars become even harder during flaring. The X-rays from these sun-like young stellar objects have the potential to ionize circumstellar material ou…
We present images of the young stellar object ASR 41 in the NGC 1333 star forming region at the wavelengths of H_alpha and [SII] and in the I, J, H, and K-bands. ASR 41 has the near-infrared morphology of an edge-on disk object, but appears an order of magnitude larger than typical systems of this kind. We also present detailed models of the scattering and radiative transfer in systems consisting of a young star surrounded by a proto-planetary disk, and the whole system being embedded in either an infalling envelope or a uniform molecular cloud. The best fit to the observed morphology can be a…
I reexamine recent observations of velocity profiles across jets blown by young stellar objects, and argue that the observations do not support the interpretation of jets rotating around their symmetry axes. Instead, I propose that the interaction of the jets with a twisted-tilted (wrapped) accretion disk can form the observed asymmetry in the jets' line of sight velocity profiles. The proposed scenario is based on two plausible assumptions. (1) There is an inclination between the jet and the outer parts of the disk; the jet is perpendicular to the inner part of the disk; Namely, there is a tw…
We present sub-arcsecond resolution millimeter-wave images of a circumstellar disk in the Bok globule CB26. The presence of an edge-on disk is confirmed by the dust continuum morphology and the velocity field of 13CO emission, which displays a Keplerian rotation pattern about an axis perpendicular to the long axis of the dust emission. We deduce a mass ~0.3 Msun for the obscured central star. The disk is optically thick at mm wavelengths inside 120 AU, has a symmetric 20 degree warp beyond 120 AU, an outer radius of ~200 AU, and a mass of at least 0.1 Msun. We suggest that the CB26 system is i…
We present results of numerical modeling of the cyclic brightness modulation in the young binary systems with the eccentric orbits and low-mass secondary components. Brightness variations of the primary is due to the periodical extinction variations on the line-of-sight caused by the disk wind of the secondary and a common envelope it produces. A matter distribution in the envelope has been calculated in the ballistic approach. Calculations showed that for the young binaries with the elliptic orbits parameters of the photometric minima (their depth, duration and the shape of light curves) depe…
In the initial formation stages young stars must acquire a significant fraction of their mass by accretion from a circumstellar disk that forms in the center of a collapsing protostellar cloud. Throughout this period mass accretion rates through the disk can reach 10^{-6}-10^{-5} M_Sun/yr leading to substantial energy release in the vicinity of stellar surface. We study the impact of irradiation of the stellar surface produced by the hot inner disk on properties of accreting fully convective low-mass stars, and also look at objects such as young brown dwarfs and giant planets. At high accretio…
We present observations of the young stars TW Hya and HD 100546 made with the Australia Telescope Compact Array at 89 GHz with $\sim2''$ resolution and $\sim3$ mJy continuum sensitivity. Compact thermal dust continuum emission is detected from disks surrounding both stars. HD 100546 also shows hints of extended emission, presumably a residual protostellar envelope, which is also visible in scattered light at optical wavelengths. For TW Hya, HCO$^+$ J=1--0 line emission from the circumstellar disk is detected and spatially resolved. The observed size and intensity are in good agreement with mod…
The origin of disks surrounding young stars has direct implications for our understanding of the formation of planetary systems. In the interstellar clouds from which star form, angular momentum is regulated by magnetic fields, preventing the spin up of contracting cores. When ~0.03 pc-sized dense cores decouple from the magnetic field and collapse dynamically, ~10^-3 km/s*pc of specific angular momentum is locked into the system. A viscous accretion disk is one of two possible mechanisms available for the necessary redistribution of angular momentum; the other one is the formation of a multip…
We have imaged two bona-fide brown dwarfs with TReCS/GEMINI-S and find mid-infrared excess emission that can be explained by optically thick dust disk models. In the case of the young ($\approx$2Myr) Cha H$α$1 we measure fluxes at 10.4$μ$m and 12.3$μ$m that are fully consistent with a standard flared disk model and prominent silicate emission. For the $\approx$ 10Myr old brown dwarf 2MASS1207-3932 located in the TW Hydrae association we find excess emission at 8.7$μ$m and 10.4$μ$m with respect to its photosphere, and confirm disk accretion as likely cause of its strong activity. Disks around b…
We present new K- and L'-band imaging of a representative sample of members of the young 3-5 Myr old sigma Orionis cluster. We identified objects with (K-L') excess by analysing colour-colour diagrams and comparing the observations with empirical main-sequence colours. The derived disk frequency depends on the method used: (54 +/- 15)% if measured directly from the JHKL' colour-colour diagram; or (46 +/-14)% if excesses are computed with respect to predicted photospheric colours (according to the objects spectral types, 2-sigma excess detections). We compare the (K-L') excess with other indica…
We report on the detection and analysis of hot ro-vibrational H2O emission from SVS-13, a young stellar object previously known to have strong CO overtone bandhead emission. Modeling of the high-resolution infrared spectrum shows that the H2O emission is characterized by temperatures ~ 1500 K, significantly lower than the temperatures that characterize the CO bandhead emission. The widths for the H2O lines are also found to be smaller than those for the CO lines. We construct a disk model for the emission that reproduces the CO and H2O spectrum. In this model, the H2O lines originate at somewh…
We report the results of the first sensitive L-band (3.5 micron) survey of the intermediate age (2.5 - 30 Myr) clusters NGC 2264, NGC 2362 and NGC 1960. We use JHKL colors to obtain a census of the circumstellar disk fractions in each cluster. We find disk fractions of 52% +/- 10%, 12% +/- 4% and 3% +/- 3% for the three clusters respectively. Together with our previously published JHKL investigations of the younger NGC 2024, Trapezium and IC 348 clusters, we have completed the first systematic and homogenous survey for circumstellar disks in a sample of young clusters that both span a signific…
(Abridged) We have completed the first systematic survey for disks around spectroscopically identified young brown dwarfs and very low mass stars. We have obtained L'-band (3.8 um) imaging for 38 very cool objects in IC 348 and Taurus. Our targets span spectral types from M6 to M9.5 (~100 to ~15 Mjup). Using the objects' measured spectral types and extinctions, we find that most of our sample (77%+/-15%) possess intrinsic IR excesses, indicative of disks. Because the excesses are modest, conventional analyses using only IR colors would have missed most of the sources with excesses. The observe…
We present high-resolution optical spectra of 15 objects near or below the sub-stellar limit in the Upper Scorpius and $ρ$ Ophiuchus star-forming regions. These spectra, obtained with the HIRES instrument on the Keck I telescope, are used to investigate disk accretion, rotation and activity in young very low mass objects. We report the detection of a broad, asymmetric H$α$ emission line in the $ρ$ Oph source GY 5 which is also known to harbor mid-infrared excess, consistent with the presence of an accreting disk. The H$α$ profiles of the Upper Sco objects suggest little or no on-going accretio…
We report the codiscovery of the spatially-resolved dust disk of the Vega-like star HR 4796A. Images of the thermal dust emission at $λ= 18 μ$m show an elongated structure approximately 200 AU in diameter surrounding the central A0V star. The position angle of the disk, $30^{\circ} \pm 10^{\circ}$, is consistent to the position angle of the M companion star, $225^{\circ}$, suggesting that the disk-binary system is being seen nearly along its orbital plane. The surface brightness distribution of the disk is consistent with the presence of an inner disk hole of approximately 50 AU radius, as was…
The nature of the energy source powering anomalous X-ray pulsars is uncertain. Proposed scenarios involve either an ultramagnetized neutron star, or accretion onto a neutron star. We consider the accretion model proposed recently by Chatterjee, Hernquist & Narayan, in which a disk is fed by fallback material following a supernova. We compute the optical, infrared, and submillimeter emission expected from such a disk, including both viscous dissipation and reradiation of X-ray flux impinging on the disk from the pulsar. We find that it is possible with current instruments to put serious constra…
We present high spectral resolution optical spectra of three young intermediate mass stars, in all of which we spectrally resolve the 6300 Angstrom [OI] emission line. Two of these have a double peaked line profile. We fit these data with a simple model of the [OI] emission caused by photo-dissociation of OH molecules in the upper layer of a circumstellar disk by stellar UV radiation and thus translate the Doppler broadened [OI] emission profile into an amount of emission as a function of distance from the central star. The resulting spectra are in agreement with the expected disk shapes as de…
We present detailed models of irradiated T Tauri disks including dust grain growth with power-law size distributions. The models assume complete mixing between dust and gas and solve for the vertical disk structure self-consistentlyincluding the heating effects of stellar irradiation as well as local viscous heating. For a given total dust mass, grain growth is found to decrease the vertical height of the surface where the optical depth to the stellar radiation becomes unit and thus the local irradiation heating, while increasing the disk emission at mm and sub-mm wavelengths. The resulting di…
