Direct Imaging of Debris Disks and Exoplanetary Systems

Stanimir Metchev (UCLA)

This talk will summarize how direct imaging of optically thin circumstellar debris disks allows us to probe the physical properties of the circumstellar dust and the architectures of the planetary systems imbedded therein. I will also cover current results from efforts to study the extrasolar planets themselves using high-contrast imaging techniques, and the relevance of our present knowledge of low-mass brown dwarfs to the expected properties of extrasolar giant planets.