Twin, aligned protoplanetary disks around the components of the young binary system L1551 IRS5

VLA 7 mm continuum observations carried out by Rodriguez et al. (1998) with 0.06' resolution toward L1551 IRS5 have shown two resolved dust sources. Both sources are elongated with almost the same orientation, similar flux densities, and similar angular sizes, being interpreted by these authors as a system of twin, aligned protoplanetary disks of 10 AU radius around the components of a young binary of 50 AU separation. These protoplanetary disks, the smaller ones ever imaged at mm wavelengths, are about a factor of ten smaller than disks around isolated stars, but have enough mass to form solar systems similar to our own. The fact that the disks are aligned with each other argues in favor for long-lived planetary systems in this binary. We all look forward to the future development of interferometers such as the EVLA, SMA, and ALMA in order to characterize the physical conditions of these associated protoplanetary disks by detecting spatially resolved molecular line emission. With these upcoming interferometers it will be possible to make great strides forward in our knowledge of the star formation processes.