Rapid Formation of a Ring of Planetesimals by Photo-evaporation From the Central Star

Astronomy and Astrophysics – Astronomy

Scientific paper

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Scientific paper

We demonstrate a method by which planetesimals may rapidly form in the region surrounding stars several AU.
Photo-evaporation caused by a disk's central star can remove ionized hydrogen gas in the region of 1-5 AU. Outward of this distance the UV flux is insignificant; inward of this distance ionized hydrogen is gravitationally retained (e.g., Matsuyama et al 2003). Photo-evaporation removes gas in this region at a rate 10^-9 m_sun/yr, forming a gap in the gas. Viscous diffusion rapidly replenishes the gas in this region as it is removed. Diffusion of gas is accompanied by inward radial transport of dust grains, due to both advection and radial drift. These grains are transported radially into the gap, but are too large to be lost in the photo-evaporative outflow. Dust grains therefore pile up into a ring, as the gas is depleted. The result is an increase in the gas:dust ratio of 10-100x at 1-5 AU within several Myr surrounding solar-types stars. This is sufficient to trigger gravitational instability that could lead to the formation of planetesimals (e.g., Throop & Bally 2005).
We will present results from numerical simulations modeling this process, and discuss its implications.

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