Length and Velocity Scales in Protoplanetary Disk Turbulence

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Hauptverfasser: Sengupta, Debanjan, Cuzzi, Jeffrey N., Umurhan, Orkan M., Lyra, Wladimir
Format: Preprint
Veröffentlicht: 2024
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author Sengupta, Debanjan
Cuzzi, Jeffrey N.
Umurhan, Orkan M.
Lyra, Wladimir
author_facet Sengupta, Debanjan
Cuzzi, Jeffrey N.
Umurhan, Orkan M.
Lyra, Wladimir
contents In the theory of protoplanetary disk turbulence, a widely adopted \emph{ansatz}, or assumption, is that the turnover frequency of the largest turbulent eddy, $Ω_L$, is the local Keplerian frequency $Ω_K$. In terms of the standard dimensionless Shakura-Sunyaev $α$ parameter that quantifies turbulent viscosity or diffusivity, this assumption leads to characteristic length and velocity scales given respectively by $\sqrtαH$ and $\sqrtαc$, in which $H$ and $c$ are the local gas scale height and sound speed. However, this assumption is not applicable in cases when turbulence is forced numerically or driven by some natural processes such as Vertical Shear Instability. Here we explore the more general case where $Ω_L\geΩ_K$ and show that under these conditions, the characteristic length and velocity scales are respectively $\sqrt{α/R'}H$ and $\sqrt{αR'}c$, where $R'\equiv Ω_L/Ω_K$ is twice the Rossby number. It follows that $α=\alphat/R'$, where $\sqrt{\alphat} c$ is the root-mean-square average of the turbulent velocities. Properly allowing for this effect naturally explains the reduced particle scale heights produced in shearing box simulations of particles in forced turbulence, and may help with interpreting recent edge-on disk observations; more general implications for observations are also presented. For $R'>1$ the effective particle Stokes numbers are increased, which has implications for particle collision dynamics and growth, as well as for planetesimal formation.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2402_15475
institution arXiv
publishDate 2024
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Length and Velocity Scales in Protoplanetary Disk Turbulence
Sengupta, Debanjan
Cuzzi, Jeffrey N.
Umurhan, Orkan M.
Lyra, Wladimir
Earth and Planetary Astrophysics
In the theory of protoplanetary disk turbulence, a widely adopted \emph{ansatz}, or assumption, is that the turnover frequency of the largest turbulent eddy, $Ω_L$, is the local Keplerian frequency $Ω_K$. In terms of the standard dimensionless Shakura-Sunyaev $α$ parameter that quantifies turbulent viscosity or diffusivity, this assumption leads to characteristic length and velocity scales given respectively by $\sqrtαH$ and $\sqrtαc$, in which $H$ and $c$ are the local gas scale height and sound speed. However, this assumption is not applicable in cases when turbulence is forced numerically or driven by some natural processes such as Vertical Shear Instability. Here we explore the more general case where $Ω_L\geΩ_K$ and show that under these conditions, the characteristic length and velocity scales are respectively $\sqrt{α/R'}H$ and $\sqrt{αR'}c$, where $R'\equiv Ω_L/Ω_K$ is twice the Rossby number. It follows that $α=\alphat/R'$, where $\sqrt{\alphat} c$ is the root-mean-square average of the turbulent velocities. Properly allowing for this effect naturally explains the reduced particle scale heights produced in shearing box simulations of particles in forced turbulence, and may help with interpreting recent edge-on disk observations; more general implications for observations are also presented. For $R'>1$ the effective particle Stokes numbers are increased, which has implications for particle collision dynamics and growth, as well as for planetesimal formation.
title Length and Velocity Scales in Protoplanetary Disk Turbulence
topic Earth and Planetary Astrophysics
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2402.15475