Astronomy and Astrophysics – Astrophysics – Solar and Stellar Astrophysics
Scientific paper
2009-10-19
Astronomy and Astrophysics
Astrophysics
Solar and Stellar Astrophysics
Accepted to ApJ. Version 2 replaces a mislabeled figure. Animations of the simulations and a version of the paper with slightl
Scientific paper
Young stellar systems orbiting in the potential of their birth cluster can accrete from the dense molecular interstellar medium during the period between the star's birth and the dispersal of the cluster's gas. Over this time, which may span several Myr, the amount of material accreted can rival the amount in the initial protoplanetary disk; the potential importance of this `tail-end' accretion for planet formation was recently highlighted by Throop & Bally (2008). While accretion onto a point mass is successfully modeled by the classical Bondi-Hoyle-Lyttleton solutions, the more complicated case of accretion onto a star-disk system defies analytic solution. In this paper we investigate via direct hydrodynamic simulations the accretion of dense interstellar material onto a star with an associated gaseous protoplanetary disk. We discuss the changes to the structure of the accretion flow caused by the disk, and vice versa. We find that immersion in a dense accretion flow can redistribute disk material such that outer disk migrates inwards, increasing the inner disk surface density and reducing the outer radius. The accretion flow also triggers the development of spiral density features, and changes to the disk inclination. The mean accretion rate onto the star remains roughly the same with and without the presence of a disk. We discuss the potential impact of this process on planet formation, including the possibility of triggered gravitational instability; inclination differences between the disk and the star; and the appearance of spiral structure in a gravitationally stable system.
Moeckel Nickolas
Throop Henry B.
No associations
LandOfFree
Bondi-Hoyle-Lyttleton Accretion onto a Protoplanetary Disk does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this scientific paper.
If you have personal experience with Bondi-Hoyle-Lyttleton Accretion onto a Protoplanetary Disk, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Bondi-Hoyle-Lyttleton Accretion onto a Protoplanetary Disk will most certainly appreciate the feedback.
Profile ID: LFWR-SCP-O-716212