Related papers: Five steps in the evolution from protoplanetary to…
Around 2% of all A stars have photospheres depleted in refractory elements. This is hypothesized to arise from a preferential accretion of gas rather than dust, but the specific processes and the origin of the material -- circum- or…
The journey from dust particle to planetesimal involves physical processes acting on scales ranging from micrometers (the sticking and restructuring of aggregates) to hundreds of astronomical units (the size of the turbulent protoplanetary…
We investigate under what circumstances an embedded planet in a protoplanetary disc may sculpt the dust distribution such that it observationally presents as a `transition' disc. We concern ourselves with `transition' discs that have large…
The disks that orbit young stars are the essential conduits and reservoirs of material for star and planet formation. Their structures, meaning the spatial variations of the disk physical conditions, reflect the underlying mechanisms that…
Several hundred stars older than 10 million years have been observed to have infrared excesses. These observations are explained by dust grains formed by the collisional fragmentation of hidden planetesimals. Such dusty planetesimal discs…
Brown dwarfs and very low mass stars are a significant fraction of stars in our galaxy, and they are interesting laboratories to investigate planet formation in extreme conditions of low temperature and densities. In addition, the dust…
Main sequence stars, like the Sun, are often found to be orbited by circumstellar material that can be categorized into two groups, planets and debris. The latter is made up of asteroids and comets, as well as the dust and gas derived from…
Our understanding of protoplanetary disks has greatly improved over the last decade due to a wealth of data from new facilities. Unbiased dust surveys with Spitzer leave us with good constraints on the dust dispersal timescale of small…
Recent high angular resolution observations of protoplanetary disks at different wavelengths have revealed several kinds of structures, including multiple bright and dark rings. Embedded planets are the most used explanation for such…
This paper is one in a series presenting results obtained within the Formation and Evolution of Planetary Systems (FEPS) Legacy Science Program on the Spitzer Space Telescope. Here we present a study of dust processing and growth in seven…
Partial condensation of dust from the Solar nebula is likely responsible for the diverse chemical compositions of chondrites and rocky planets/planetesimals in the inner Solar system. We present a forward physical-chemical model of a…
Giant impacts between planetary embryos are a natural step in the terrestrial planet formation process and are expected to create disks of warm debris in the terrestrial regions of their stars. Understanding the gas and dust debris produced…
Although debris disks may be common in exoplanet systems, only a few systems are known in which debris disks and planets coexist. Planets and the surrounding stellar population can have a significant impact on debris disk evolution. Here we…
Context: While sub-micron- and micron-sized dust grains are generally well mixed with the gas phase in protoplanetary disks, larger grains will be partially decoupled and as a consequence have a different distribution from that of the gas.…
The migration of planetary cores embedded in a protoplanetary disk is an important mechanism within planet-formation theory, relevant for the architecture of planetary systems. Consequently, planet migration is actively discussed, yet often…
We numerically model the evolution of dust in a protoplanetary disk using a two-phase (gas+dust) Smoothed Particle Hydrodynamics (SPH) code, which is non-self-gravitating and locally isothermal. The code follows the three dimensional…
Planet migration in protoplanetary discs plays an important role in the longer term evolution of planetary systems, yet we currently have no direct observational test to determine if a planet is migrating in its gaseous disc. We explore the…
Rings and radial gaps are ubiquitous in protoplanetary disks, yet their possible connection to planet formation is currently subject to intense debates. In principle, giant planet formation leads to wide gaps which separate the gas and dust…
Discs of gas and dust around Myr-old stars are a by-product of the star formation process and provide the raw material to form planets. Hence, their evolution and dispersal directly impact what type of planets can form and affect the final…
We present models for the formation of terrestrial planets, and the collisional evolution of debris disks, in planetary systems that contain multiple unstable gas giants. We previously showed that the dynamics of the giant planets…