Summary: | Disks are a natural by-product of start formation. Just like the formation if a star is a lengthy process that goes through many stages, disks around young stars evolve my processing matter through the disk and dumping it onto the star. The solid and gaseous components of disks do not always evolve together - dust-gas separation can take place, dust grains may grow. In this chapter we attempt a brief overview of processes that shape this evolution, in a way that is useful as a background to the other chapters in this lecture series. As such, the chapter does not aim for completeness or being up to date with some of the most recent developments.
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