Evolutionary Stages and Disk Properties of Young Stellar Objects in the
  Perseus Cloud
  We investigated the evolutionary stages and disk properties of 211 Young
stellar objects (YSOs) across the Perseus cloud by modeling the broadband
optical to mid-infrared (IR) spectral energy distribution (SED). By exploring
the relationships among the turnoff wave bands lambda_turnoff (longward of
which significant IR excesses above the stellar photosphere are observed), the
excess spectral index alpha_excess at lambda <~ 24 microns, and the disk inner
radius R_in (from SED modeling) for YSOs of different evolutionary stages, we
found that the median and standard deviation of alpha_excess of YSOs with
optically thick disks tend to increase with lambda_turnoff, especially at
lambda_turnoff >= 5.8 microns, whereas the median fractional dust luminosities
L_dust/L_star tend to decrease with lambda_turnoff. This points to an
inside-out disk clearing of small dust grains. Moreover, a positive correlation
between alpha_excess and R_in was found at alpha_excess > ~0 and R_in > ~10
$\times$ the dust sublimation radius R_sub, irrespective of lambda_turnoff,
L_dust/L_star and disk flaring. This suggests that the outer disk flaring
either does not evolve synchronously with the inside-out disk clearing or has
little influence on alpha_excess shortward of 24 microns. About 23% of our YSO
disks are classified as transitional disks, which have lambda_turnoff >= 5.8
microns and L_dust/L_star >10^(-3). The transitional disks and full disks
occupy distinctly different regions on the L_dust/L_star vs. alpha_excess
diagram. Taking L_dust/L_star as an approximate discriminator of disks with
(>0.1) and without (<0.1) considerable accretion activity, we found that 65%
and 35% of the transitional disks may be consistent with being dominantly
cleared by photoevaporation and dynamical interaction respectively. [abridged]
