NEAR-INFRARED OBSERVATIONS OF L1551-IRS5 WITH IMAGE SHARPENING

L1551-IRS5 is a classic example of a low-mass young stellar object. We present near-infrared images with a FWHM of 0.3 arcsec obtained using the 'Shift and Add' technique. These observations are combined with e xisting multiwaveband data to constrain Monte Carlo models of the syst em in scattered light. The models demonstrate that the observed flux d istribution arises not from a disc but from a circumstellar envelope w ith an evacuated bipolar cavity. The envelope has a mass of 0.1-0.3M(. ) within a radius of 670 au, and shows no evidence of a significant po pulation of large dust grains.