Related papers: Stokes trapping and planet formation
An unsolved issue in the standard core accretion model for gaseous planet formation is how kilometre-sized planetesimals form from, initially, micron-sized dust grains. Solid growth beyond metre sizes can be difficult both because the…
Planets are built from planetesimals: solids larger than a kilometer which grow by colliding pairwise. Planetesimals themselves are unlikely to form by two-body collisions; sub-km objects have gravitational fields individually too weak, and…
We calculate the formation of dust clouds in atmospheres of giant gas-planets. The chemical structure and the evolution of the grain size distribution in the dust cloud layer is discussed based on a consistent treatment of seed formation,…
In the core accretion scenario, gas giant planets are formed form solid cores with several Earth masses via gas accretion. We investigate the formation of such cores via collisional growth from kilometer-sized planetesimals in turbulent…
We review current understanding of star formation, outlining an overall theoretical framework and the observations that motivate it. A conception of star formation has emerged in which turbulence plays a dual role, both creating…
Observations suggest that star formation occurs in only one or two crossing times for a range of scales spanning a factor of 1000. These observations include (1) measurements of embedded cluster ages in comparison with the cloud core…
[abridged] Recent laboratory experiments indicate that destructive collisions of icy dust particles occur with much lower velocities than previously thought. When these new velocities are considered from laboratory experiments in dust…
Collisions between particles suspended in a fluid play an important role in many physical processes. As an example, collisions of microscopic water droplets in clouds are a necessary step in the production of macroscopic raindrops.…
How stars are born from clouds of gas is a rich physics problem whose solution will inform our understanding of not just stars but also planets, galaxies, and the universe itself. Star formation is stupendously inefficient. Take the Milky…
The formation of gas-giant planets within the lifetime of a protoplanetary disk is challenging especially far from a star. A promising model for the rapid formation of giant-planet cores is pebble accretion in which gas drag during…
We investigate the formation of planetesimals via the gravitational instability of solids that have settled to the midplane of a circumstellar disk. Vertical shear between the gas and a subdisk of solids induces turbulent mixing which…
Recent surveys of star forming regions have shown that most stars, and probably all massive stars, are born in dense stellar clusters. The mechanism by which a molecular cloud fragments to form several hundred to thousands of individual…
The structure of planetary systems around their host stars depends on their initial formation conditions. Massive planets will likely be formed as a consequence of rapid migration of planetesimals and low mass cores into specific trapping…
The meter-size barrier in protoplanetary disks is a major challenge in planet formation, for which many solutions were suggested. One of the leading solutions is dust traps, that halt or slow the inward migration of dust particles. The…
Planet formation begins with collisional growth of small planetesimals accumulating into larger ones. Such growth occurs while planetesimals are embedded in a gaseous protoplanetary disc. However, small-planetesimals experience collisions…
The evolution of protoplanetary discs embedded in stellar clusters depends on the age and the stellar density in which they are embedded. Stellar clusters of young age and high stellar surface density destroy protoplanetary discs by…
(abridged) In the core accretion scenario for the formation of planetary rocky cores, the first step toward planet formation is the growth of dust grains into larger and larger aggregates and eventually planetesimals. Although dust grains…
Transition disks have dust-depleted inner regions and may represent an intermediate step of an on-going disk dispersal process, where planet formation is probably in progress. Recent millimetre observations of transition disks reveal…
Planet formation is directly linked to the birthing environment that protoplanetary disks provide. The disk properties determine whether a giant planet will form and how it evolves. The number of exoplanet and disk observations is…
The streaming instability and pebble accretion are two physical mechanisms with demonstrated potentials to drive, respectively, the formation of planetesimals and the growth of planetary systems containing a diverse range of planetary…