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Investigation of the Physical Properties of Protoplanetary Disks around T Tauri Stars by a 1 Arcsecond Imaging Survey: Evolution and Diversity of the Disks in Their Accretion Stage*

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© 2002. The American Astronomical Society. All rights reserved. Printed in U.S.A.
, , Citation Yoshimi Kitamura et al 2002 ApJ 581 357 DOI 10.1086/344223

0004-637X/581/1/357

Abstract

We present the results of an imaging survey of protoplanetary disks around single T Tauri stars in Taurus. Thermal emission at 2 mm from dust in the disks has been imaged with a maximum spatial resolution of 1'' by using the Nobeyama Millimeter Array. Disk images have been successfully obtained under almost uniform conditions for 13 T Tauri stars, two of which are thought to be embedded. We have derived the disk properties of outer radius, surface density distribution, mass, temperature distribution, and dust opacity coefficient, by analyzing both our images and the spectral energy distributions on the basis of two disk models: the usual power-law model and the standard model for viscous accretion disks. By examining correlations between the disk properties and disk clocks, we have found radial expansion of the disks with decreasing Hα line luminosity, a measure of disk evolution. This expansion can be interpreted as radial expansion of accretion disks due to outward transport of angular momentum with evolution. The increasing rate of the disk radius suggests that the viscosity has weak dependence on radius r and α ~ 0.01 for the α parameterization of the viscosity. The power-law index p of the surface density distribution [Σ(r) = Σ0(r/r0)-p] is 0-1 in most cases, which is smaller than 1.5 adopted in the Hayashi model for the origin of our solar system, while the surface density at 100 AU is 0.1-10 g cm-2, which is consistent with the extrapolated value in the Hayashi model. These facts may imply that in the disks of our sample it is very difficult to make planets like ours without redistribution of solids, if such low values for p hold even in the innermost regions.

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Footnotes

  • Based on the long-term open-use observations made at the Nobeyama Radio Observatory, which is a branch of the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan, an interuniversity research institute operated by the Ministry of Education, Science, Sports, Culture, and Technology.

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10.1086/344223