ASTRONOMY COLLOQUIUM (Neugebauer Lecture)

I will show observations that probe the connections between disks and planets. I apply novel observational methods such as extreme adaptive optics, high-contrast imaging spectroscopy and infrared interferometry to studying the processes by which the ubiquitous disks around young stars form planets and then dissipate to leave mature planetary systems. First, disk structure can reveal the presence of planets too small to directly image.  Second, disks present an opportunity to study the rocky precursors of planets, by taking advantage of the collisions that broke apart the parent bodies. Third, giant collisions can reveal both rocky materials and the processes that shape the final architectures of exoplanetary systems and planetary compositions.