May 04, 2012

Kate Brutlag Follette, University of Arizona

"Adaptive Optics Imaging of Circumstellar Disks: Current Capabilities and Future Prospects"

I will discuss recent advancements in the field of high-resolution circumstellar disk imaging through the Strategic Exploration of Exoplanets and Disks with Subaru (SEEDS) initiative, including my own work on the transitional disk SR21. SR21 has a large (r~36AU) cavity in the sub-mm, but a very different morphology in the scattered NIR light probed by SEEDS. This discrepancy has implications for the mechanism creating the cavity at the center of the disk, where clearing by giant planet formation is an exciting potential contributor. I will also touch on the future of high-resolution circumstellar disk imaging at Subaru and my work with the Magellan Adaptive Optics team at the University of Arizona designing a next-generation AO system with excellent circumstellar imaging capabilities.