Rossby wave instability and three-dimensional vortices in accretion disks

Méheut, H.; Casse, Fabien; Varnière, P.; Tagger, M.

doi:10.1051/0004-6361/201014000

Cited by 114 publications

(147 citation statements)

References 32 publications

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“…The studies of Edgar & Quillen (2008) and Fromang & Nelson (2005) both use a locally isothermal equation of state, which has large-scale non-zero baroclinity due to the static radial temperature gradient. Furthermore, the existence of the RWI in 3D is demonstrated by the simulations of Méheut et al (2008).…”

Section: Vortex Formation and Survivalmentioning

confidence: 82%

Planet formation bursts at the borders of the dead zone in 2D numerical simulations of circumstellar disks

Lyra¹,

Johansen

Zsom

et al. 2009

A&A

164

188

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Context. As accretion in protoplanetary disks is enabled by turbulent viscosity, the border between active and inactive (dead) zones constitutes a location where there is an abrupt change in the accretion flow. The gas accumulation that ensues triggers the Rossby wave instability, which in turn saturates into anticyclonic vortices. It has been suggested that the trapping of solids within them leads to a burst of planet formation on very short timescales. Aims. We study in the formation and evolution of the vortices in greater detail, focusing on the implications for the dynamics of embedded solid particles and planet formation. Methods. We performed two-dimensional global simulations of the dynamics of gas and solids in a non-magnetized thin protoplanetary disk with the Pencil code. We used multiple particle species of radius 1, 10, 30, and 100 cm. We computed the particles' gravitational interaction by a particle-mesh method, translating the particles' number density into surface density and computing the corresponding self-gravitational potential via fast Fourier transforms. The dead zone is modeled as a region of low viscosity. Adiabatic and locally isothermal equations of state are used. Results. The Rossby wave instability is triggered under a variety of conditions, thus making vortex formation a robust process. Inside the vortices, fast accumulation of solids occurs and the particles collapse into objects of planetary mass on timescales as short as five orbits. Because the drag force is size-dependent, aerodynamical sorting ensues within the vortical motion, and the first bound structures formed are composed primarily of similarly-sized particles. In addition to erosion due to ram pressure, we identify gas tides from the massive vortices as a disrupting agent of formed protoplanetary embryos. We find evidence that the backreaction of the drag force from the particles onto the gas modifies the evolution of the Rossby wave instability, with vortices being launched only at later times if this term is excluded from the momentum equation. Even though the gas is not initially gravitationally unstable, the vortices can grow to Q ≈ 1 in locally isothermal runs, which halts the inverse cascade of energy towards smaller wavenumbers. As a result, vortices in models without self-gravity tend to rapidly merge towards a m = 2 or m = 1 mode, while models with self-gravity retain dominant higher order modes (m = 4 or m = 3) for longer times. Non-selfgravitating disks thus show fewer and stronger vortices. We also estimate the collisional velocity history of the particles that compose the most massive embryo by the end of the simulation, finding that the vast majority of them never experienced a collision with another particle at speeds faster than 1 m s −1 . This result lends further support to previous studies showing that vortices provide a favorable environment for planet formation.

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Section: Vortex Formation and Survivalmentioning

confidence: 82%

Planet formation bursts at the borders of the dead zone in 2D numerical simulations of circumstellar disks

Lyra¹,

Johansen

Zsom

et al. 2009

A&A

164

188

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“…Such boundaries may be less important in accretion flows and therefore one must account for these effects when extrapolating to astrophysically-relevant control parameters. Furthermore, recent numerical simulations by Meheut et al (2010) have indicated that stratification may also play an important role in the dynamics of accretion disks, but such effects have not been experimentally examined in high Reynolds number Taylor Couette flow. Although these flows do not capture the full complexity of astrophysical systems, they do serve as an indication that hydrodynamic instabilities can occur in Rayleigh-stable flows.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Angular momentum transport and turbulence in laboratory models of Keplerian flows

Paoletti

Gils

Dubrulle

et al. 2012

A&A

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We present angular momentum transport (torque) measurements in two recent experimental studies of the turbulent flow between independently rotating cylinders. In addition to these studies, we reanalyze prior torque measurements to expand the range of control parameters for the experimental Taylor-Couette flows. We find that the torque may be described as a product of functions that depend only on the Reynolds number, which describes the turbulent driving intensity, and the rotation number, which characterizes the effects of global rotation. For a given Reynolds number, the global angular momentum transport for Keplerian-like flow profiles is approximately 14% of the maximum achievable transport rate. We estimate that this level of transport would produce an accretion rate ofṀ/Ṁ 0 ∼ 10 −3 in astrophysical disks. We argue that this level of transport from hydrodynamics alone could be significant. We also discuss the possible role of finite-size effects in triggering or sustaining turbulence in our laboratory experiments.

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“…The numerical methods used for these simulations are inspired by those of Meheut et al (2010). We used the message passing interface-adaptive mesh refinement versatile advection code (MPI-AMRVAC) developed by Keppens and Meliani (Keppens et al 2012).…”

Section: Numericsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…We used a cylindrical grid with r [1, 6] AU, z [0, 0.5] AU and the full azimuthal direction ϕ [0, 2π]. The simulations consider only the upper half of the disc, because the disc mid-plane appeared to be a symmetry plane for the instability in our earlier full vertical simulations (Meheut et al 2010). If not specified, the length is given in AU and the code unit time corresponds to 1/(2π) yr.…”

Section: Numericsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Formation and long-term evolution of 3D vortices in protoplanetary discs

Méheut¹,

Keppens²,

Casse³

et al. 2012

A&A

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Context. In the context of planet formation, anticyclonic vortices have recently received much attention for the role they can play in planetesimal formation. Radial migration of intermediate-size solids towards the central star may prevent them from growing to larger solid grains. On the other hand, vortices can trap the dust and accelerate this growth, counteracting fast radial transport. Several effects have been shown to affect this scenario, such as vortex migration or decay. Aims. We aim to study the formation of vortices by the Rossby wave instability and their long-term evolution in a full threedimensional (3D) protoplanetary disc. Methods. We used a robust numerical scheme combined with adaptive mesh refinement in cylindrical coordinates, which allowed us to affordably compute long-term 3D evolutions. We considered a full disc radially and vertically stratified, in which vortices can be formed by the Rossby wave instability. Results. We show that the 3D Rossby vortices grow and survive over hundreds of years without migration. The localised overdensity that initiated the instability and vortex formation survives the growth of the Rossby wave instability for very long times. When the vortices are no longer sustained by the Rossby wave instability, their shape changes towards more elliptical vortices. This allows them to survive shear-driven destruction, but they may be prone to elliptical instability and slow decay. Conclusions. When the conditions for growing Rossby-wave-related instabilities are maintained in the disc, large-scale vortices can survive over very long timescales and may be able to concentrate solids.

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Rossby wave instability and three-dimensional vortices in accretion disks

Cited by 114 publications

References 32 publications

Planet formation bursts at the borders of the dead zone in 2D numerical simulations of circumstellar disks

Planet formation bursts at the borders of the dead zone in 2D numerical simulations of circumstellar disks

Angular momentum transport and turbulence in laboratory models of Keplerian flows

Formation and long-term evolution of 3D vortices in protoplanetary discs

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