Evidence for grain growth in T Tauri disks

Abstract

In this article we present the results from mid-infrared spectroscopy of a sample of 14 T Tauri stars with silicate emission. The qualitative analysis of the spectra reveals a correlation between the strength of the silicate feature and its shape similar to the one which was found recently for the more massive Herbig Ae/Be stars by van Boekel et al. (2003). The comparison with theoretical spectra of amorphous olivine ([Mg,Fe]2SiO4) with different grain sizes suggests that this correlation is indicating grain growth in the disks of T Tauri stars. Similar mechanisms of grain processing appear to be effective in both groups of young stars.