Evolution of Circumstellar Disks Around Normal Stars: Placing Our Solar System in Context

In this morning's astro-ph was the following abstract. Note its last
sentence.



astro-ph/0606399
Title: Evolution of Circumstellar Disks Around Normal Stars: Placing Our Solar System in Context
Authors: M. R. Meyer, D. E. Backman, A. J. Weinberger, M. C. Wyatt
Comments: Review chapter in "Protostars and Planets V"

Over the past 10 years abundant evidence has emerged that many (if not
all) stars are born with circumstellar disks. Understanding the
evolution of post-accretion disks can provide strong constraints on
theories of planet formation and evolution. In this review, we focus
on developments in understanding: a) the evolution of the gas and dust
content of circumstellar disks based on observational surveys,
highlighting new results from the Spitzer Space Telescope; b) the
physical properties of specific systems as a means to interpret the
survey results; c) theoretical models used to explain the
observations; d) an evolutionary model of our own solar system for
comparison to the observations of debris disks around other stars; and
e) how these new results impact our assessment of whether systems like
our own are common or rare compared to the ensemble of normal stars in
the disk of the Milky Way.


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