Dust Dynamics in Protoplanetary Disks: Fables of the Sun and the Wind in the Pre- and Post-Planet-Formation Eras
Date
2023-08-22
Authors
Bi, Jiaqing
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Abstract
Dust grains in protoplanetary disks are the most fundamental building blocks of planetary embryos. Therefore, they play a crucial role in the planet formation process. In this dissertation, we focus on the topic of dust dynamics, aiming at exploring the origin of the observed dust substructures in protoplanetary disks and the correlation between the substructures and planets. Dust dynamics in two main periods of time are studied in this dissertation: before and after the formation of the planet. In the first part, we focus on the micron-sized dust grains that are susceptible to the radiation pressure from the star. We present a newly found irradiation instability that leads to the clumping effects of dust grains. We also found that the dust clumps make the disk more transparent, promoting disk edge recession due to radiation pressure, and shedding light on the formation of large dust cavities in transitional disks. In the second part, we focus on the sub-mm-sized dust grains trapped at the planet-induced pressure bump. We show that planet-disk interactions tend to widen dust rings. We also model the planet's effect on the dust via diffusion and quantify the enhanced dust ring width with analytical tools. Our findings bridge the correlations between the confirmed planets and the accompanying wide dust rings.
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Keywords
protoplanetary disk, planet formation, dust dynamics