[Previous] | [Session 2] | [Next]
D. E. Trilling (UCO/Lick), R. H. Brown, A. S. Rivkin (LPL/Arizona)
We have detected circumstellar dust disks around three stars with known radial velocity (extrasolar) planets (Trilling and Brown 1998; Trilling et al. 1999). These three disks all resemble our Solar System's Kuiper Belt in mass, radial extent, composition, and surface density. In our own Solar System, the Kuiper Belt can only be studied one object at a time. However, disks around other stars allow us the opportunity to study Kuiper Belt analogs globally, and to learn about this outer region of our own Solar System through this process.
In this talk, we will present our most recent results from our ongoing survey of stars with known radial velocity companions. We will describe how our Solar System relates to the growing catalog of mature planetary systems, and what implications this has for planet formation, as occurred in our Solar System and occurs in others. We will discuss the extrasolar planetary masses derived from our circumstellar disk observations. Lastly, we will comment on any correlations between observable characteristics of extrasolar planetary systems and our own Solar System: planet mass, planet heliocentric distance, orbital eccentricity, and disk mass.