Evidence for Dust Grain Growth in Young Circumstellar Disks

doi:10.1126/science.1059093

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1059093v1

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Published Online April 26, 2001
Science DOI: 10.1126/science.1059093

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Submitted on January 17, 2001
Accepted on April 20, 2001

Evidence for Dust Grain Growth in Young Circumstellar Disks

Henry B. Throop ¹^*, John Bally ², Larry W. Esposito ², Mark J. McCaughrean ²

¹ Southwest Research Institute, 1050 Walnut Street, Suite 426, Boulder, CO 80302, USA; LASP, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO 80309-0392, USA.
² LASP, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO 80309-0392, USA.

^* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: throop{at}boulder.swri.edu.

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 outer disk boundaries. We discuss implications for the formation rates of planetary systems.

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