Computer Science
Scientific paper
Dec 1984
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=1984icar...60..553w&link_type=abstract
Icarus (ISSN 0019-1035), vol. 60, Dec. 1984, p. 553-567.
Computer Science
143
Accretion Disks, Particle Size Distribution, Protoplanets, Solar Corona, Solar System, Turbulence Effects, Collision Rates, Convective Flow, Cosmochemistry, Interplanetary Dust, Opacity, Optical Thickness, Planetary Evolution
Scientific paper
In accretion disk models of the solar nebula, turbulence is driven by convective instability. This mechanism requires high opacity, which must be provided by solid grains. Evolution of the grain size distribution in a turbulent disk is computed numerically, using realistic collisional outcomes and strengths of grain aggregates, rather than arbitrary "sticking efficiency". The presence of turbulence greatly increases the rate of grain collisions. Aggregates quickly reach sizes ≡0.1 - 1 cm, but erosion and breakup in collisions prevent growth of larger bodies for plausible aggregate impact strengths. The opacity of the disk is reduced by aggregate formation; some combinations of opacity law and surface density produce an optically thin disk, cutting off turbulent convection. The disk may experience alternating periods of turbulence and quiescence. Planetesimals can form only during the quiescent intervals; it is argued that such episodes were rare during the lifetime of the accretion disk.
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