Project Details
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Growth and Evolution of Planets in protoplanetary Disks

Applicant Dr. Christoph Schäfer, since 3/2022
Subject Area Astrophysics and Astronomy
Term from 2019 to 2023
Project identifier Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 406707590
 
Final Report Year 2022

Final Report Abstract

Understanding the diversity of extrasolar planets’ mass and orbital distributions is difficult due to incorrect assumptions on the protoplanetary disk structure. In this project, a more realistic model of protoplanetary discs, which accounts both for the vertical shear instability and disks winds, magnetohydrodynamical and self-gravitational effects is developed. By the help of numerical simulations, we can show that gas accretion can proceed in conditions of low turbulent viscosity when the influence of magnetic fields is considered. Magnetic fields operate in the regions of protoplanetary disks, where the degree of ionization was believed to be too low up to now, due to instabilities specific to weakly ionized gas. Additionally, we have studied the process of planet formation by fragmentation in a self-gravitating disk depending on the cooling. Turbulence driven by gravitational instabilities can be modeled as an effective viscosity. We could also clearly separate planet-induced spirals from instabilityinduced spirals; this could help future identifications of embedded exoplanets that are too faint to be observed directly, or help rule out planets as the cause of spirals in other disks.

Publications

 
 

Additional Information

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