2003/01/29 by Wayne F. Winters, Steven A. Balbus, John F. Hawley · 2 citations
Physics and Astronomy · #Astronomy and Astrophysical Research #Astrophysics and Star Formation Studies #Stellar, planetary, and galactic studies #astro-ph
paper · pdf · doi:10.1086/374409
published as Astrophys.J. 589 (2003) 543-555 · accepted by Astrophysical Journal. For associated animations see http://www.astro.virginia.edu/VITA/papers/planet1/
arxiv created 2003/01/29 · openalex publication_date 2003/05/20 · arxiv updated 2009/12/01 · openalex created_date 2016/06/24 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/31
The processes of planet formation and migration depend intimately on the interaction between planetesimals and the gaseous disks in which they form. The formation of gaps in the disk can severely limit the mass of the planet and its migration toward the protostar. We investigate the process of gap formation through magnetohydrodynamic simulations in which internal stress arises self-consistently from turbulence generated by the magnetorotational instability. The simulations investigate three different planetary masses and two disk temperatures to bracket the tidal (thermal) and viscous gap opening conditions. The results are in general qualitative agreement with previous simulations of gap formation but show significant differences. In the presence of MHD turbulence, the gaps produced are shallower and asymmetrically wider than those produced with pure hydrodynamics. The rate of gap formation is also slowed, with accretion occurring across the developing gap. Viscous hydrodynamics does not adequately describe the evolution, however, because planets capable of producing gaps also may be capable of affecting the level of MHD turbulence in different regions of the disk.