Program: GS-2009A-Q-19

Disks of freshly produced dust grains provide observational clues into the nature of planet formation and the evolution of circumstellar material. The size and space distributions of the grains in debris disks are linked to the physical processes shaping the disk and can act as probes of unseen planets. Optical/near-IR scattered-light and thermal imaging of spatially resolved structures provide complementary means of measuring these effects. We propose to use T-ReCS to follow up our recent discovery of a debris disk surrounding HD\,131835, a young A star in the Upper Centaurus Lupus moving group. Preliminary observations suggest wavelength-dependent asymmetries in the brightness distribution of the near-edge-on disk. Our proposed follow-up observations will allow us to precisely measure the color dependence of these asymmetries, as well as confirm the presence of a warp in the outer disk. These data will allow us to test several mechanisms for dust production and disk evolution.