PHYLLOSILICATE EMISSION FROM PROTOPLANETARY DISKS by

Phyllosilicates are commonly found in meteorites. A product of aqueous alteration, phyllosilicates have unique emission features in the mid-infrared. In order to determine if these features can be detected in extrasolar protoplanetary disks with instruments such as the Spitzer Space Telescope, disk emission was modeled using simple radiative transfer. In so doing, it was found that the most prominent phyllosilicate features can be detected. Comparisons of the disk emission model with and without the inclusion of 3 % phyllosilicates in the dust mixture are presented. The zodiacal dust in our Solar System has been modeled by including 20 % montmorillonite, a phyllosilicate. Detection of phyllosilicates in extra-solar protoplanetary disks, indicates the presence of liquid water, and would demonstrate a similarity of those disks to our Solar System. Non-detection would place a meaningful upper limit on the abundance of phyllosilicates and would imply that those systems are fundamentally different than our own. iii For my mom...I’ve missed her each and every day of this journey