An SMA Continuum Survey of Circumstellar Disks in the Serpens Star-forming Region

Abstract

Abstract We present observations with the Submillimeter Array of the continuum emission at from 62 young stars surrounded by a protoplanetary disk in the Serpens star-forming region. The typical angular resolution for the survey in terms of beam size is with a median rms noise level of 1.6 mJy beam−1. These data are used to infer the dust content in disks around low-mass stars at a median stellar age of 1–3 Myr. Thirteen sources were detected in the 1.3 mm dust continuum with inferred dust masses of and an upper limit to the median dust mass of , derived using survival analysis. Comparing the protoplanetary disk population in Serpens to those of other nearby star-forming regions, we find that the populations of dust disks in Serpens and Taurus, which have a similar age, are statistically indistinguishable. This is potentially surprising as Serpens has a stellar surface density two orders of magnitude in excess of Taurus. Hence, we find no evidence that dust disks in Serpens have been dispersed as a result of more frequent and/or stronger tidal interactions due to its elevated stellar density. We also report that the fraction of Serpens disks with is less than 20%, which supports the notion that the formation of giant planets is likely inherently rare or has substantially progressed by a few Myr.