Physics – Fluid Dynamics
Scientific paper
Nov 1999
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=1999aps..dfd..jd01b&link_type=abstract
American Physical Society, Division of Fluid Dynamics Meeting, November 21-23, 1999 New Orleans, LA, abstract #JD.01
Physics
Fluid Dynamics
Scientific paper
A protostar forms when a dense region of the interstellar medium collapses due to its self-gravity (Jeans instability). Due to conservation of angular momentum, matter cannot fall directly onto the protostar, but spirals in to form an accretion disk. In order for matter to accrete onto the central protostar, angular momentum must be dissipated or transported out of the disk. Most workers in the field assume that a turbulent viscosity is responsible: ν ≈ α cs H, where cs is the sound speed, H is the scale height of the disk, and α is a nondimensional number, typically much less than unity. More recently, theorists have begun to appreciate the role of vortices in the transport of mass and angular momentum in accretion disks. These vortices are akin to the Great Red Spot on Jupiter, but here geostrophic balance is between pressure, Coriolis, and gravitational forces. Furthermore, such vortices may also play a significant role in seeding the formation of giant planets in circumstellar disks by enhancing the local surface density, and by concentrating dust grains at their centers. We are investigating such ideas via computational methods. Specifically, we are interested in determining the stability and lifetimes of the different vortices; how they are generated and maintained; and how efficiently they transport mass and angular momentum, as well as concentrate dust.
Barranco Joseph
Marcus Philip
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