Relative importance of physical processes driving accretion–disk-mass dispersion

Determine the relative importance of internal and external physical processes, including internal and external photoevaporation, planet formation, dust evolution, dynamical interactions, and late-stage infall, in producing the observed dispersion in the mass accretion rate–disk mass relation for protoplanetary disks.

Background

The paper explains that the observed dispersion in the mass accretion rate–disk mass relation is only partly attributable to observational uncertainties and systematic effects. Physical processes operating within disks and their environments may also contribute, but the relative contribution of each process has not been established. This problem is central to understanding disk evolution and the origin of the broad range of inferred disk lifetimes.