Karl E. Haisch, Jr. et al 2001 ApJ 553 L153 doi:10.1086/320685
Disk Frequencies and Lifetimes in Young Clusters
FREEKarl E. Haisch, Jr.1,3,4,5,6, Elizabeth A. Lada1,5,7 and Charles J. Lada2,5
Show affiliationsWe report the results of the first sensitive L-band survey of the intermediate-age (2.5-30 Myr) clusters NGC 2264, NGC 2362, and NGC 1960. We use JHKL colors to obtain a census of the circumstellar disk fractions in each cluster. We find disk fractions of 52% ± 10%, 12% ± 4%, and 3% ± 3% for the three clusters, respectively. Together with our previously published JHKL investigations of the younger NGC 2024, Trapezium, and IC 348 clusters, we have completed the first systematic and homogeneous survey for circumstellar disks in a sample of young clusters that both span a significant range in age (0.3-30 Myr) and contain statistically significant numbers of stars whose masses span nearly the entire stellar mass spectrum. Analysis of the combined survey indicates that the cluster disk fraction is initially very high (≥80%) and rapidly decreases with increasing cluster age, such that one-half the stars within the clusters lose their disks in 
3 Myr. Moreover, these observations yield an overall disk lifetime of ~6 Myr in the surveyed cluster sample. This is the timescale for essentially all the stars in a cluster to lose their disks. This should set a meaningful constraint for the planet-building timescale in stellar clusters. The implications of these results for current theories of planet formation are briefly discussed.
- Subject headings
infrared: stars; open clusters and associations: general; planetary systems: protoplanetary disks; stars: formation
- Dates
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Issue 2 (2001 June 1)
Received 2001 February 21, accepted for publication 2001 April 20
Published 2001 May 16
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Disk Frequencies and Lifetimes in Young Clusters
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