Related papers: The Heavy Element Composition of Disk Instability …
Gravitational instability has been invoked as a possible mechanism of giant planet formation in protoplanetary disks. Here we critically revise its viability by noting that for the direct production of giant planets it is not enough for…
Planet formation models are necessary to understand the origins of diverse planetary systems. Circumstellar disc substructures have been proposed as preferred locations of planet formation but a complete formation scenario has not been…
The bulk chemical compositions of planets are uncertain, even for major elements such as Mg and Si. This is due to the fact that the samples available for study all originate from relatively shallow depths. Comparison of the stable isotope…
While conventional interior models for Jupiter and Saturn are based on the simplistic assumption of a solid core surrounded by a homogeneous gaseous envelope, we derive new models with an inhomogeneous distribution of heavy elements, i.e. a…
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…
We present a suite of three dimensional radiative gravitational hydrodynamics models suggesting that binary stars may be quite capable of forming planetary systems similar to our own. The new models with binary companions do not employ any…
The relationship between the compositions of giant planets and their host stars is of fundamental interest in understanding planet formation. The solar system giant planets are enhanced above solar composition in metals, both in their…
Some Jupiter-mass exoplanets contain $\sim$$100\, M_\oplus$ of metals, well above the $\sim$$10\, M_\oplus$ typically needed in a solid core to trigger giant planet formation by runaway gas accretion. We demonstrate that such `heavy-metal…
Millimeter sized dust grains experience radial velocities exceeding the gas velocities by orders of magnitude. The viscous evolution of the accretion disk adds disk material onto the central star's convective envelope, influencing its…
The final composition of giant planets formed as a result of gravitational instability in the disk gas depends on their ability to capture solid material (planetesimals) during their 'pre-collapse' stage, when they are extended and cold,…
Differential settling and growth of dust grains impact the structure of the radiative envelopes of gaseous planets during formation. Sufficiently rapid dust growth can result in envelopes with substantially reduced opacities for radiation…
In this chapter we summarize current knowledge of the internal structure of giant planets. We concentrate on the importance of heavy elements and their role in determining the planetary composition and internal structure, in planet…
The core accretion model for giant planet formation suggests a two layer picture for the initial structure of Jovian planets, with heavy elements in a dense core and a thick H-He envelope. Late planetesimal accretion and core erosion could…
Around our Sun, terrestrial planets did not grow beyond Earth in mass, while super-Earths are found to orbit approximately every other solar-like star. It remains unclear what divides these super-Earth systems from those that form…
Planet formation encompasses processes that span a remarkable 40 magnitudes in mass, ranging from collisions between micron-sized grains inherited from the ISM to the accretion of gas by giant planets. The planet formation process takes…
The Core Accretion model is widely accepted as the primary mechanism for forming planets up to a few Jupiter masses. However, the formation of super-massive planets remains a subject of debate, as their formation via the Core Accretion…
Gas-giant planets that form via core accretion might have very different characteristics from those that form via disk-instability. Disk-instability objects are typically thought to have higher entropies, larger radii, and (generally)…
We use resistive magnetohydrodynamical simulations with the nested grid technique to study the formation of protoplanetary disks around protostars from molecular cloud cores that provide the realistic environments for planet formation. We…
The bulk composition of an exoplanet is commonly inferred from its average density. For small planets, however, the average density is not unique within the range of compositions. Variations of a number of important planetary…
Giant planet formation in the core accretion (CA) paradigm is predicated by the formation of a core, assembled by the coagulation of grains and later by planetesimals within a protoplanetary disc. In contrast, in the disc instability…