A Circumstellar Disk Survey of Low Mass Stars in Upper Scorpius

A Circumstellar Disk Survey of Low Mass Stars in Upper Scorpius A Circumstellar Disk Survey of Low Mass Stars in Upper Scorpius A Circumstellar Disk Survey of Low Mass Stars in Upper Scorpius Summary: With the high-contrast imaging capabilities of NIRC2 and the Vector Vortex Coronagraph, we propose to conduct a survey of circumstellar disks in Upper Scorpius with a combination of both high infrared excesses and high 0.88mm ALMA continuum fluxes. Existing near-IR observations of Sco-Cen have yielded many spatially resolved circumstellar disks around intermediate mass stars in the UCL and LCC regions, but cannot resolve disks around lower mass stars. Only Keck has the sensitivity to extend the search for resolved scattered light disks to lower mass K/M stars, and using the Kp filter on NIRC2, we will resolve and characterize the disk morphologies for the first time in scattered light imaging. By combining the proposed low-mass star survey with the existing GPI high-mass star survey, we will assemble a consistent experimental dataset to explore the diversity of disk properties around stars with a common age and formation environment.