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Title:
How Shadowing and Illumination in Disks Affects Planet Formation
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Authors:
Hannah Jang-Condell, Carnegie Institution of Washington (DTM)
Dimitar D. Sasselov, Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics
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Abstract:
Radiative transfer is an important process in protoplanetary disks. Stellar illumination, in particular, is primarily responsible for setting the temperature and density structure of passively accreting protoplanetary disks. Perturbations in the structure of a disk such as clumping, gap-opening, and dust-settling can create shadows and bright spots which in turn further perturb the disk's structure. Density and temperature variations resulting from the dynamical interactions between a planet and a disk can be further enhanced by these cooling and heating effects, leading to alterations in planetary migration rates, planetary growth, and other important planet formation processes. In this paper, I will present radiative transfer calculations on a three-dimensional disk perturbation induced by a protoplanet. I will discuss consequences for how these temperature perturbations affect ice formation vis-a-vis the "snow line" and how this might affect the growth rate of protoplanets as well as the accumulation of volatile material onto a planet embryo. I will also address some possible observational signatures of the presence of planets in disks. Small planets which are insufficiently massive to open a full annular gap in the disk are likely to be out of the range of observability, but I will put limits on the observability of shallow gaps through imaging and SEDs.
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