Cold Disks: Spitzer Spectroscopy of Disks around Young Stars with Large Gaps

We have identified four circumstellar disks with a deficit of dust emission from their inner 15-50 AU. All four stars have F-G spectral type and were uncovered as part of the Spitzer Space Telescope "Cores to Disks" Legacy Program Infrared Spectrograph (IRS) first-look survey of ~100 pre-main-sequence stars. Modeling of the spectral energy distributions indicates a reduction in dust density by factors of 100-1000 from disk radii between ~0.4 and 15-50 AU but with massive gas-rich disks at larger radii. This large contrast between the inner and outer disk has led us to use the term "cold disks" to distinguish these unusual systems. However, hot dust [(0.02-0.2)M_moon] is still present close to the central star (R ≤ 0.8 AU). We introduce the 30 μm/13 μm flux density ratio as a new diagnostic for identifying cold disks. The mechanisms for dust clearing over such large gaps are discussed. Although rare, cold disks are likely in transition from an optically thick to an optically thin state and so offer excellent laboratories for the study of planet formation.