Dust Dynamics in Radially Convective Regions of Protoplanetary Disks

Hydrodynamic instabilities likely operate in protoplanetary disks. One candidate, convective overstability (COS), can be triggered in regions with a negative radial entropy gradient. The ensuing turbulence and flow structures are expected to affect dust dynamics directly. We revisit the interaction...

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Main Authors: Min-Kai Lin, Marius Lehmann
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: IOP Publishing 2025-01-01
Series:The Astrophysical Journal
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Online Access:https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/adabe6
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author Min-Kai Lin
Marius Lehmann
author_facet Min-Kai Lin
Marius Lehmann
author_sort Min-Kai Lin
collection DOAJ
description Hydrodynamic instabilities likely operate in protoplanetary disks. One candidate, convective overstability (COS), can be triggered in regions with a negative radial entropy gradient. The ensuing turbulence and flow structures are expected to affect dust dynamics directly. We revisit the interaction between dust and the COS with high-resolution spectral simulations in the unstratified, axisymmetric Boussinesq shearing box framework. We find zonal flows, or pressure bumps, formed by the COS trap dust, as expected, but dust densities increase at most by a factor of O (10) over its background value due to the zonal flows’ unsteady nature. Furthermore, dust feedback can impede the formation of zonal flows, even at small dust-to-gas ratios ϵ  ∼  O (0.1). We interpret this phenomenon as a competition between the negative gas angular momentum flux associated with zonal flow formation and the positive dust angular momentum flux associated with its drift toward pressure maxima. Dust concentration significantly weakens when a large-scale radial pressure gradient induces a background dust drift. Ultimately, we find that dust concentration by COS-induced zonal flows is limited to ϵ  ≲ 1. Whether this can be improved under more realistic geometries must be addressed with stratified and full 3D simulations at equivalent resolutions.
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spelling doaj-art-6114c85cf2c04b4fb79d3a7cd9cbc45e2025-02-06T08:23:28ZengIOP PublishingThe Astrophysical Journal1538-43572025-01-0198019410.3847/1538-4357/adabe6Dust Dynamics in Radially Convective Regions of Protoplanetary DisksMin-Kai Lin0https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8597-4386Marius Lehmann1https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0496-3539Institute of Astronomy and Astrophysics , Academia Sinica, Taipei 106319, Taiwan ; mklin@asiaa.sinica.edu.tw; Physics Division, National Center for Theoretical Sciences , Taipei 106319, TaiwanInstitute of Astronomy and Astrophysics , Academia Sinica, Taipei 106319, Taiwan ; mklin@asiaa.sinica.edu.twHydrodynamic instabilities likely operate in protoplanetary disks. One candidate, convective overstability (COS), can be triggered in regions with a negative radial entropy gradient. The ensuing turbulence and flow structures are expected to affect dust dynamics directly. We revisit the interaction between dust and the COS with high-resolution spectral simulations in the unstratified, axisymmetric Boussinesq shearing box framework. We find zonal flows, or pressure bumps, formed by the COS trap dust, as expected, but dust densities increase at most by a factor of O (10) over its background value due to the zonal flows’ unsteady nature. Furthermore, dust feedback can impede the formation of zonal flows, even at small dust-to-gas ratios ϵ  ∼  O (0.1). We interpret this phenomenon as a competition between the negative gas angular momentum flux associated with zonal flow formation and the positive dust angular momentum flux associated with its drift toward pressure maxima. Dust concentration significantly weakens when a large-scale radial pressure gradient induces a background dust drift. Ultimately, we find that dust concentration by COS-induced zonal flows is limited to ϵ  ≲ 1. Whether this can be improved under more realistic geometries must be addressed with stratified and full 3D simulations at equivalent resolutions.https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/adabe6Protoplanetary disksPlanet formationHydrodynamical simulationsHydrodynamicsAstrophysical fluid dynamics
spellingShingle Min-Kai Lin
Marius Lehmann
Dust Dynamics in Radially Convective Regions of Protoplanetary Disks
The Astrophysical Journal
Protoplanetary disks
Planet formation
Hydrodynamical simulations
Hydrodynamics
Astrophysical fluid dynamics
title Dust Dynamics in Radially Convective Regions of Protoplanetary Disks
title_full Dust Dynamics in Radially Convective Regions of Protoplanetary Disks
title_fullStr Dust Dynamics in Radially Convective Regions of Protoplanetary Disks
title_full_unstemmed Dust Dynamics in Radially Convective Regions of Protoplanetary Disks
title_short Dust Dynamics in Radially Convective Regions of Protoplanetary Disks
title_sort dust dynamics in radially convective regions of protoplanetary disks
topic Protoplanetary disks
Planet formation
Hydrodynamical simulations
Hydrodynamics
Astrophysical fluid dynamics
url https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/adabe6
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AT mariuslehmann dustdynamicsinradiallyconvectiveregionsofprotoplanetarydisks