The Three-Dimensional Behavior of Spiral Shocks in Protoplanetary Disks
Abstract
In this dissertation, I describe theoretical and numerical studies that address the three-dimensional behavior of spiral shocks in protoplanetary disks and the controversial topic of gas giant formation by disk instability. For this work, I discuss characteristics of gravitational instabilities (GIs) in bursting and asymptotic phase disks; outline a theory for the three-dimensional structure of spiral shocks, called shock bores, for isothermal and adiabatic gases; consider convection as a source of cooling for protoplanetary disks; investigate the effects of opacity on disk cooling; use multiple analyses to test for disk stability against fragmentation; test the sensitivity of GI behavior to radiation boundary conditions; measure shock strengths and frequencies in GI-bursting disks; evaluate temperature fluctuations in unstable disks; and investigate whether spiral shocks can form chondrules when GIs activate. The numerical methods developed for these studies are discussed, including a radiation transport routine that explicitly couples the low and high optical depth regimes and a routine that models ortho and parahydrogen. Finally, I explore the hypothesis that chondrule formation and the FU Ori phenomenon are driven by GI activation in dead zones.
Keywords
Cite
@article{arxiv.0710.1244,
title = {The Three-Dimensional Behavior of Spiral Shocks in Protoplanetary Disks},
author = {Aaron C. Boley},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:0710.1244},
year = {2007}
}
Comments
Accepted by the faculty of the University Graduate School in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree Doctor of Philosophy in the Department of Astronomy, Indiana University. v2: Found and corrected typos. Corrected plotting error (strictly a plotting error) in pressure panel of Fig. 7.19