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Gravoturbulent Planetesimal Formation: The Positive Effect of long-lived Zonal Flows

Dittrich, K. ; Klahr, H. and Johansen, Anders LU (2013) In Astrophysical Journal 763(2).
Abstract
Recent numerical simulations have shown long-lived axisymmetric sub- and super-Keplerian flows in protoplanetary disks. These zonal flows are found in local as well as global simulations of disks unstable to the magnetorotational instability. This paper covers our study of the strength and lifetime of zonal flows and the resulting long-lived gas over- and underdensities as functions of the azimuthal and radial size of the local shearing box. We further investigate dust particle concentrations without feedback on the gas and without self-gravity. The strength and lifetime of zonal flows increase with the radial extent of the simulation box, but decrease with the azimuthal box size. Our simulations support earlier results that zonal flows... (More)
Recent numerical simulations have shown long-lived axisymmetric sub- and super-Keplerian flows in protoplanetary disks. These zonal flows are found in local as well as global simulations of disks unstable to the magnetorotational instability. This paper covers our study of the strength and lifetime of zonal flows and the resulting long-lived gas over- and underdensities as functions of the azimuthal and radial size of the local shearing box. We further investigate dust particle concentrations without feedback on the gas and without self-gravity. The strength and lifetime of zonal flows increase with the radial extent of the simulation box, but decrease with the azimuthal box size. Our simulations support earlier results that zonal flows have a natural radial length scale of 5-7 gas pressure scale heights. This is the first study that combines three-dimensional MHD simulations of zonal flows and dust particles feeling the gas pressure. The pressure bumps trap particles with St = 1 very efficiently. We show that St = 0.1 particles (of some centimeters in size if at 5 AU in a minimum mass solar nebula) reach a hundred-fold higher density than initially. This opens the path for particles of St = 0.1 and dust-to-gas ratio of 0.01 or for particles of St >= 0.5 and dust-to-gas ratio 10(-4) to still reach densities that potentially trigger the streaming instability and thus gravoturbulent formation of planetesimals. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
; and
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
magnetohydrodynamics (MHD), planets and satellites: formation, protoplanetary disks
in
Astrophysical Journal
volume
763
issue
2
article number
117
publisher
American Astronomical Society
external identifiers
  • wos:000313869800048
  • scopus:84872709822
ISSN
0004-637X
DOI
10.1088/0004-637X/763/2/117
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
c0993e84-a262-4e20-990c-cff5b7ab0b4c (old id 3590942)
alternative location
http://arxiv.org/abs/1211.2095
date added to LUP
2016-04-01 14:47:32
date last changed
2024-04-11 00:33:31
@article{c0993e84-a262-4e20-990c-cff5b7ab0b4c,
  abstract     = {{Recent numerical simulations have shown long-lived axisymmetric sub- and super-Keplerian flows in protoplanetary disks. These zonal flows are found in local as well as global simulations of disks unstable to the magnetorotational instability. This paper covers our study of the strength and lifetime of zonal flows and the resulting long-lived gas over- and underdensities as functions of the azimuthal and radial size of the local shearing box. We further investigate dust particle concentrations without feedback on the gas and without self-gravity. The strength and lifetime of zonal flows increase with the radial extent of the simulation box, but decrease with the azimuthal box size. Our simulations support earlier results that zonal flows have a natural radial length scale of 5-7 gas pressure scale heights. This is the first study that combines three-dimensional MHD simulations of zonal flows and dust particles feeling the gas pressure. The pressure bumps trap particles with St = 1 very efficiently. We show that St = 0.1 particles (of some centimeters in size if at 5 AU in a minimum mass solar nebula) reach a hundred-fold higher density than initially. This opens the path for particles of St = 0.1 and dust-to-gas ratio of 0.01 or for particles of St >= 0.5 and dust-to-gas ratio 10(-4) to still reach densities that potentially trigger the streaming instability and thus gravoturbulent formation of planetesimals.}},
  author       = {{Dittrich, K. and Klahr, H. and Johansen, Anders}},
  issn         = {{0004-637X}},
  keywords     = {{magnetohydrodynamics (MHD); planets and satellites: formation; protoplanetary disks}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  number       = {{2}},
  publisher    = {{American Astronomical Society}},
  series       = {{Astrophysical Journal}},
  title        = {{Gravoturbulent Planetesimal Formation: The Positive Effect of long-lived Zonal Flows}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1088/0004-637X/763/2/117}},
  doi          = {{10.1088/0004-637X/763/2/117}},
  volume       = {{763}},
  year         = {{2013}},
}