Related papers: Circumstellar discs: What will be next?

Observations of debris disks, the products of the collisional evolution of rocky planetesimals, can be used to trace planetary activity across a wide range of stellar types. The most common end points of stellar evolution are no exception…

We explore in situ formation and subsequent evolution of close-in super-Earths and mini-Neptunes. We adopt a steady-state inner protoplanetary gas disc structure that arises from viscous accretion due to the magneto-rotational instability…

Simulations of the collapse and fragmentation of turbulent molecular clouds and dense young clusters show that encounters between disc-surrounded stars are relatively common events which should significantly influence the resulting disc…

Recent spatially-resolved observations of protoplanetary disks revealed a plethora of substructures, including concentric rings and gaps, inner cavities, misalignments, spiral arms, and azimuthal asymmetries. This is the major breakthrough…

We predict the existence of dusty disks and possibly CO planets around massive white dwarfs. We show that the thermal emission from these disks should be detectable in the infrared. The planets may also be detectable either by direct IR…

We know little about the outermost exoplanets in planetary systems, because our detection methods are insensitive to moderate-mass planets on wide orbits. However, debris discs can probe the outer-planet population, because dynamical…

Circumstellar disks of gas and dust are naturally formed from contracting pre-stellar molecular cores during the star formation process. To study various dynamical and chemical processes that take place in circumstellar disks prior to their…

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…

Solid material in protoplanetary discs will suffer one of two fates after the epoch of planet formation; either being bound up into planetary bodies, or remaining in smaller planetesimals to be ground into dust. These end states are…

Protoplanetary disks dissipate rapidly after the central star forms, on time-scales comparable to those inferred for planet formation. In order to allow the formation of planets, disks must survive the dispersive effects of UV and X-ray…

We present a new model for protoplanetary disc evolution. This model combines viscous evolution with photoevaporation of the disc, in a manner similar to Clarke, Gendrin & Sotomayor (2001). However in a companion paper (Alexander, Clarke &…

This thesis summarises my scientific works in the field of thermo-chemical modelling of planet-forming discs since 2009, in particular the development of the Protoplanetary Disc Model (ProDiMo). By combining chemical rate networks with…

The initial conditions, physics, and outcome of planet formation are now constrained by detailed observations of protoplanetary disks, laboratory experiments, and the discovery of thousands of extrasolar planetary systems. These…

A key problem in protoplanetary disc evolution is understanding the efficiency of dust radial drift. This process makes the observed dust disc sizes shrink on relatively short timescales, implying that discs started much larger than what we…

The chemical composition of a protoplanetary disk is determined not only by in situ chemical processes during the disk phase, but also by the history of the gas and dust before it accreted from the natal envelope. In order to understand the…

Circumstellar disks are characteristic for star formation and vanish during the first few Myr of stellar evolution. During this time planets are believed to form in the dense midplane by growth, sedimentation and aggregation of dust.…

The formation of planets with gaseous envelopes takes place in protoplanetary accretion discs on time-scales of several millions of years. Small dust particles stick to each other to form pebbles, pebbles concentrate in the turbulent flow…

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…

Planets form in disks of gas and dust around young stars. The disk molecular reservoirs and their chemical evolution affect all aspects of planet formation, from the coagulation of dust grains into pebbles, to the elemental and molecular…

Transitional discs are a special type of protoplanetary discs where planet formation is thought to be taking place. These objects feature characteristic inner cavities and/or gaps of a few tens of AUs in the sub-millimitre images of the…