Related papers: Testing Disk Instability Models for Giant Planet F…
Molecular gas disks are generally Toomre stable ($Q_T>$1) and yet clearly gravitationally unstable to structure formation as evidenced by the existence of molecular clouds and ongoing star formation. This paper adopts a 3D perspective to…
The formation of the solar system's giant planets predated the ultimate epoch of massive impacts that concluded the process of terrestrial planet formation. Following their formation, the giant planets' orbits evolved through an episode of…
A planetary instability occurring at time $<100$ My after formation of the giant planets in our solar system can be responsible for some characteristics of the inner solar system. However, the actual influence of the instability on the…
We have explored the evolution of a cold debris disk under the gravitational influence of dwarf planet sized objects (DPs), both in the presence and absence of an interior giant planet. Through detailed long-term numerical simulations, we…
Gravitational fragmentation has been proposed as a mechanism for the formation of giant planets in close orbits around solar-type stars. However, it is debatable whether this mechanism can function in the inner regions (R<40 AU) of real…
The well-known bar instability of rotationally-supported disk galaxy models has been studied extensively since its first discovery over half a century ago. We were therefore very surprised to find cases of disks embedded in rigid halos,…
We discuss the physics of vortices in the circumstellar disks associated with young stellar objects. We elucidate the basic physical properties of these localized storm systems. In particular, we consider point vortices, linear vortices,…
We study the formation of a giant gas planet by the core--accretion gas--capture process, with numerical simulations, under the assumption that the planetary core forms in the center of an anti-cyclonic vortex. The presence of the vortex…
(Exo-)planets inherit their budget of chemical elements from a protoplanetary disk. The disk temperature determines the phase of each chemical species, which sets the composition of solids and gas available for planet formation. We…
The recent discoveries of massive planets on ultra-wide orbits of HR 8799 (Marois et al. 2008) and Fomalhaut (Kalas et al. 2008) present a new challenge for planet formation theorists. Our goal is to figure out which of three giant planet…
Gravitational instabilities (GIs) are spiral distortions in a self-gravitating disk that appear wherever the local surface density and temperature become favorable for their growth. The restructuring of the disk as it becomes unstable, the…
We investigate the evolution of star-forming gas-rich disks, using a 3D chemodynamical model including a dark halo, stars, and a two-phase interstellar medium with feedback processes from the stars. We show that galaxy evolution proceeds…
We consider the dynamics of porous icy dust aggregates in a turbulent gas disk and investigate the stability of the disk. We evaluate the random velocity of porous dust aggregates by considering their self-gravity, collisions, aerodynamic…
This review introduces physical processes in protoplanetary disks relevant to accretion and the initial stages of planet formation. After a brief overview of the observational context, I introduce the elementary theory of disk structure and…
Disk fragmentation resulting from the gravitational instability has been proposed as an efficient mechanism for forming giant planets. We use the planet Fomalhaut b, the triple-planetary system HR 8799, and the potential protoplanet…
We propose that turbulent heating, wave pressure and gas exchanges between different regions of disks play a dominant role in determining the preferred, quasi-equilibrium, self-similar states of gas disks on large-scales. We present simple…
General analytic arguments lead us to expect that in the modified dynamics (MOND) self-gravitating disks are more stable than their like in Newtonian dynamics. We study this question numerically, using a particle-mesh code based on a…
The initial stages of planet formation in circumstellar gas discs proceed via dust grains that collide and build up larger and larger bodies (Safronov 1969). How this process continues from metre-sized boulders to kilometre-scale…
Young protoplanetary discs are expected to be gravitationally unstable, which can drive angular momentum transport as well as be a potential mechanism for planet formation. Gravitational instability is most prevalent in the outer disc where…
Planetary systems can evolve dynamically even after the planets themselves have fully formed, and there is circumstantial evidence that most planetary systems become unstable after the disappearance of the gaseous protoplanetary disk.…