Protoplanetary Disk Evolution

Protoplanetary disks evolve through gas accretion onto the star, photo-evaporation, coagulation and settling of dust grains, and planet formation. With the Atacama Large Millimeter Array (ALMA) we can now see fine details of disk structure, gas chemistry, and dust trapping. With the Very Large Array (VLA), we can witness the first steps in the growth of planetesimals. Together with studies of exoplanets, these observations of the processes of planet formation will help us understand the origins of our solar system and how common its architecture is.