Gas streams can bypass gaps in disks to feed growing planets
In short: Researchers using smoothed particle hydrodynamics simulations found that gas can flow through gaps in circumbinary disks via streams that do not close the gap. This process allows mass to reach the central objects, potentially allowing planets to continue growing even after they have cleared a gap in their surrounding protoplanetary disk.
This finding is significant because it suggests that a planet's growth might not terminate once it opens a gap. The study identified that efficient flow typically requires a disk thickness-to-radius ratio of at least 0.05 when the turbulent viscosity parameter is greater than 0.01.
The researchers used numerical simulations to model these dynamics. Because this was a simulation-based study, the results represent modeled physical behaviors rather than direct astronomical observations.
Why it matters: Planets might continue to grow into 'superplanets' even after they have cleared a gap in their surrounding disk.
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Sources
- Summary by Intellect · source: Research: Artymowicz and Lubow (1996). Mass Flow through Gaps in Circumbinary Disks. The Astrophysical Journal.
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