# Protoplanetary disk lifetimes vs stellar mass and possible implications for giant planet populations

**Authors:** Álvaro Ribas, Hervé Bouy, Bruno Merín  
**arXiv:** [1502.00631](https://arxiv.org/abs/1502.00631)  
**Date:** 2015-02-02  
**Summary page:** https://www.summarizepaper.com/en/paper/1502.00631v1/

## Key points

- The study investigates the relationship between protoplanetary disk evolution and stellar mass using a large sample of young stellar objects in nearby star-forming regions.
- The authors update the protoplanetary disk fractions presented in their previous work for 22 nearby associations aged between 1 and 100 Myr.
- A subsample of 1,428 spectroscopically confirmed members is used to examine the impact of stellar mass on protoplanetary disk evolution by dividing the sample into two stellar mass bins (2 M$_{\odot}$ boundary) and two age bins (3 Myr boundary).
- Objects are classified into three groups based on infrared excesses over photospheric emission: protoplanetary disks, evolved disks, and diskless.
- The authors find robust statistical evidence that protoplanetary disk evolution depends on stellar mass, with disks evolving faster or earlier around high-mass (>2 M$_{\odot}$) stars compared to low-mass stars.
- They also observe a roughly constant level of evolved disks throughout the entire age and stellar mass spectra.
- Such dependence could have important implications for gas giant planet formation and migration, which may contribute to explaining the apparent paucity of hot Jupiters around high-mass stars.

## Summary

In their study, "Protoplanetary disk lifetimes vs stellar mass and possible implications for giant planet populations," Álvaro Ribas, Hervé Bouy, and Bruno Merín investigate the relationship between protoplanetary disk evolution and stellar mass using a large sample of young stellar objects in nearby star-forming regions. The authors update the protoplanetary disk fractions presented in their previous work (paper I of this series) for 22 nearby associations (< 500 pc) aged between 1 and 100 Myr. They use a subsample of 1,428 spectroscopically confirmed members to examine the impact of stellar mass on protoplanetary disk evolution by dividing the sample into two stellar mass bins (2 M$_{\odot}$ boundary) and two age bins (3 Myr boundary). The authors classify objects into three groups based on infrared excesses over photospheric emission: protoplanetary disks, evolved disks, and diskless. The homogeneous analysis and bias corrections allow for a statistically significant inter-comparison of results. The authors find robust statistical evidence that protoplanetary disk evolution depends on stellar mass. Their results confirm that protoplanetary disks evolve faster or earlier around high-mass (>2 M$_{\odot}$) stars compared to low-mass stars. They also observe a roughly constant level of evolved disks throughout the entire age and stellar mass spectra. The authors conclude that such dependence could have important implications for gas giant planet formation and migration, which may contribute to explaining the apparent paucity of hot Jupiters around high-mass stars. This study provides valuable insights into understanding how planetary systems form around different types of stars.