Effect of irradiation model on 2D hydrodynamic simulations of self-gravitating protoplanetary discs

Fuente: arXiv
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Auteurs principaux: Leedham, Caitriona S., Booth, Richard A., Clarke, Cathie J.
Format: Preprint
Publié: 2025
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author Leedham, Caitriona S.
Booth, Richard A.
Clarke, Cathie J.
author_facet Leedham, Caitriona S.
Booth, Richard A.
Clarke, Cathie J.
contents Young protoplanetary discs are expected to be gravitationally unstable, which can drive angular momentum transport as well as be a potential mechanism for planet formation. Gravitational instability is most prevalent in the outer disc where cooling timescales are short. At large radii, stellar irradiation makes a significant contribution to disc heating and is expected to suppress instability. In this study, we compare two models of implementing irradiation in 2D hydrodynamic simulations of self-gravitating discs: supplying a constant heating rate per unit mass and per unit area of the disc. In the former case, instability is quenched once the stellar irradiation becomes the dominant heating source. In the latter case, we find instability persists under high levels of irradiation, despite large values of the Toomre Q parameter, in agreement with analytic predictions. Fragmentation was able to occur in this regime with the critical cooling timescale required decreasing as irradiation is increased, corresponding to a maximum threshold for the viscosity parameter: $α\sim0.03-0.09$.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2503_22667
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Effect of irradiation model on 2D hydrodynamic simulations of self-gravitating protoplanetary discs
Leedham, Caitriona S.
Booth, Richard A.
Clarke, Cathie J.
Earth and Planetary Astrophysics
Young protoplanetary discs are expected to be gravitationally unstable, which can drive angular momentum transport as well as be a potential mechanism for planet formation. Gravitational instability is most prevalent in the outer disc where cooling timescales are short. At large radii, stellar irradiation makes a significant contribution to disc heating and is expected to suppress instability. In this study, we compare two models of implementing irradiation in 2D hydrodynamic simulations of self-gravitating discs: supplying a constant heating rate per unit mass and per unit area of the disc. In the former case, instability is quenched once the stellar irradiation becomes the dominant heating source. In the latter case, we find instability persists under high levels of irradiation, despite large values of the Toomre Q parameter, in agreement with analytic predictions. Fragmentation was able to occur in this regime with the critical cooling timescale required decreasing as irradiation is increased, corresponding to a maximum threshold for the viscosity parameter: $α\sim0.03-0.09$.
title Effect of irradiation model on 2D hydrodynamic simulations of self-gravitating protoplanetary discs
topic Earth and Planetary Astrophysics
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2503.22667