Polarimetry as a Probe of Protoplanetary Disk Properties

Abstract

Evidence is now mounting that planet formation begins early in a planetary system’s lifetime, while the protostar is still surrounded by a disk of gas and dust. Obtaining information about the dust in protoplanetary disks is necessary to investigate the details of planet formation. Polarization observations provide a unique window into the properties and evolution of dust grains in these disks. In this talk, I will discuss the results of observational studies and models of polarized emission at millimeter and sub-millimeter wavelengths in protoplanetary disks. We find that the scattering of thermal emission by dust can produce polarized emission consistent with the morphologies seen in many observations of disks. By comparing the polarized emission across multiple wavelengths, we can derive information about the sizes and physical distributions of dust grains.