Observations indicate that the gaseous circumstellar disks around young stars vary significantly in size , ranging from tens to thousands of AU .
Models of planet formation depend critically upon the properties of these primordial disks , yet in general it is impossible to connect an existing planetary system with an observed disk .
We present a method by which we can constrain the size of our own protosolar nebula using the properties of the small body reservoirs in the solar system .
In standard planet formation theory , after Jupiter and Saturn formed they scattered a significant number of remnant planetesimals into highly eccentric orbits .
In this paper , we show that if there had been a massive , extended protoplanetary disk at that time , then the disk would have excited Kozai oscillations in some of the scattered objects , driving them into high-inclination ( i \gtrsim 50 ^ { \circ } ) , low-eccentricity orbits ( q \gtrsim 30 AU ) .
The dissipation of the gaseous disk would strand a subset of objects in these high-inclination orbits ; orbits that are stable on Gyr time scales .
To date , surveys have not detected any Kuiper Belt Objects with orbits consistent with this dynamical mechanism .
Using these non-detections by the Deep Ecliptic Survey ( DES ) and the Palomar Distant Solar System Survey we are able to rule out an extended gaseous protoplanetary disk ( R _ { D } \gtrsim 80 AU ) in our solar system at the time of Jupiter ’ s formation .
Future deep all sky surveys such as the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope ( LSST ) will all us to further constrain the size of the protoplanetary disk .