Speaker: Laird Close, IfA

Title: Imaging Circumstellar Disks with the UH Adaptive Optics Systems

Abstract:
The hypothesis of stellar/planetary formation from disks has been suggested
since the time of Kant and Laplace; however, it is only in the last decade 
that unambiguous evidence of such circumstellar disks has come to light. 
Circumstellar disks are crucial elements to modern star formation theory: 
they allow angular momentum to be conserved, moderate the accretion 
flow, prevent run-away spin-up, and through some (as yet poorly 
understood mechanism) collimate the outflows from the protostar. These disks
are also the logical birthsites of planetary systems. Despite the central
role disks play in stellar/planetary formation, little direct detection
of these disks existed until recently. I will review how the advent of 
high-contrast (factors of 1 million at 2") diffraction-limited imaging 
(FWHM~0.1") with the UH Adaptive Optics system has now made it practical 
to directly image scattered light from such disks for the first time. The 
general characteristics of such disks, and the implications to 
stellar/planetary formation will be outlined.