Deriving median disk lifetimes from disk lifetime distributions

TL;DR

This paper introduces a simple method to derive the distribution of protoplanetary disk lifetimes from observational data, providing insights into median lifetimes despite the variability in individual cases.

Contribution

It proposes a novel approach to infer the disk lifetime distribution from observed data, which was previously unknown, using a Gaussian distribution model.

Findings

Method successfully infers disk lifetime distribution

Median disk lifetime can be estimated from the distribution

Applicable to observational data of protoplanetary disks

Abstract

Observations show that individual protoplanetary disk lifetimes vary from \mbox{$<$ 1 Myr} to $\gg$ 20 Myr. The disk lifetime distribution is currently unknown. For the example of a Gaussian distribution of the disk lifetime, I suggest a simple method for deducing such a disk lifetimes distribution. The median disk lifetimes inferred with this method is also shown.