Cool Stars 14 - Submitted Abstract # 100 This version created on 05 October 2006 Observations of Gas and Dust in Nearby Edge-On Disk Systems Seth Redfield, University of Texas at Austin Jacqueline Kessler-Silacci, University of Texas at Austin Lucas Cieza, University of Texas at Austin Edge-on debris disks systems provide a unique opportunity to probe the structure of both the dust and gas in circumstellar environments. Measurements of the dust can be made using infrared (IR) photometry or scattered light emission, practically independent of the disk orientation. Measurements of the gas content using high resolution optical and ultraviolet absorption line spectroscopy, however, require that the star and the plane of the disk lie along the line of sight (i.e., that the circumstellar disk is edge-on). We present Spitzer IR observations and optical absorption line observations of several stars, suspected of being edge-on disk systems based on short timescale (~days) gas absorption variability, or nonvariable, but anomalously large absorption signatures. The gas absorption line variability was monitored in CaII and NaI over two years, and supplementary observations were made of stars proximate to our primary targets, to untangle any "contaminating" interstellar absorption. None of our targets show any significant IR excesses. Presumably, a reservoir of material is required to replenish the inner gas disk which is responsible for the observed short timescale absorption line variability. Our IR observations provide strong upper limits on the content of any dust reservoir in these systems. Together, these observations probe the relationship between the gas and dust components of circumstellar disks, and may provide important constraints on models of disk evolution and planet formation. ----------------------------------