  We explore whether protoplanetary disks with self-shadowing from puffed up
inner rims exhibit observable features in scattered light images. We use both
self-consistent hydrostatic equilibrium calculations and parameterized models
to produce the vertically puffed up inner rims. We find that, in general, the
transition between the shadowed and flared regions occurs in a smooth manner
over a broad radius range, and no sudden jump exists at the outer edge of the
shadow in either the disk temperature or density structures. As a result, a
puffed up rim cannot create sharp ring/arc/spiral-arm-like features in the
outer disk as have been detected in recent direct NIR imaging of disks. On the
other hand, if the puffed up rim has a sharp edge in the vertical direction,
the shadowing effect can produce a distinct 3-stage broken power law in the
radial intensity profile of the scattered light, with 2 steep surface
brightness radial profiles in the inner and outer disk joined by a shallow
transition region around the shadow edge. These types of scattered light
profiles may have already been observed, such as in the recent Subaru direct
imaging of the TW Hydrae system.
