Elisha Polomski
U. Florida

The Circumstellar Environments of the Pre-Main-Sequence Ae/Be Stars

I have conducted a program of mid-IR imaging observations of the
intermediate mass protoplanetary disk candidates, the Ae/Be stars,
using the University of Florida mid-IR imager OSCIR at the Infrared
Telescope Facility and the Cerro Tololo Interamerican Observatory.
My observations have shown that as much as 50% of the mid-IR emission
of these objects is unrelated to circumstellar disks. I have
discovered large-scale extended emission and multiple companions
around many of these objects.  In addition I have constructed revised
SEDs which exclude emission from non-disk sources. These SEDs exhibit
altered slopes which are not within the ranges seen in simple
circumstellar disk models.  Finally,  temperature maps of the dust
grains support the hypothesis that some of the mid-IR emission
originates in non-equilibrium emission from small grains.  I present
images of several of the objects I have surveyed and discuss their
properties. The source of the IR excess of these stars has direct
consequences for the presence of circumstellar disks and ultimately,
the formation of planets around intermediate mass stars.