by
Gwendolyn Meeus(Astrophysical Institute of Potsdam)
→
Europe/Stockholm
FA31
FA31
Description
Observations of dust emission in young, circumstellar discs have shown that the dust in those discs is much larger than that found in the interstellar medium, where the disc material originates from. Theoretical models of dust processing predict that the dust located in the hot surface of flaring discs will grow and settle into the disc mid-plane. It is in the denser mid-plane regions of the discs that planets are expected to form, in a process that starts with grain growth, continues with the formation of meter-sized objects and eventually the building of planetesimals. This talk concentrates on the initial steps of planet formation, by discussing the observational evidence of dust processing in discs of young (age < 10 Myr) objects. The discs are located around stars with a wide range in mass, from the Herbig Ae/Be stars (a few solar masses), over the T Tauri stars (solar-mass) down to the Brown Dwarfs (masses below 0.08 Msun). We will discuss the impact of stellar parameters on dust rain evolution, such as age, mass, luminosity and the presence of close companions. We will do so by a comparison of dust properties of objects in a single star forming region (influence of mass, luminosity, companions) and by comparing dust properties of objects located in different regions (influence of age and environment).
(Host: Alexis Brandeker)