Do planets form inside vortices ?

Séminaire IPAG de Heloise Meheut (CEA/DSM/IRFU), jeudi 5 septembre 2013 à 11h00, IPAG seminar room

Vortices on Earth are known to concentrate solid particle in the eye of the vortex. A similar process is proposed to concentrate solids in protoplanetary disks and participate to planet formation by explaining one of the most challenging step in planet formation theory : the formation of planetesimals of kilometre size. Vortex scenario is especially in vogue since the asymmetries observed in protoplanetary disks by the Atacama Large Millimeter Array (ALMA) are proposed to be observational evidences of the presence of Rossby vortices in the disks.

In this talk, I will introduce the vortex scenario for planetesimal formation and discuss the formation of large scale vortices in protoplanetary disks by the Rossby wave instability. I will present an analytical study and global numerical simulations of this instability leading to the formation of Rossby vortices. I will then detail the 3D structure of these vortices and its influence on solid concentration. I will conclude by comparing numerical study of solid concentration in vortices with recent observations.