Research Group: Astronomy Unit
Full-time Project: yes

Funding

Project Description

Planets form in discs of gas and dust around young stars. When still embedded, planets interact gravitationally with the disc, which leads to orbital evolution of the planet, and, if the planet is massive enough, the formation of a gap around the orbit of the planet. It has become clear in recent years that the energy budget can play a critical role in these interactions, and that the much used isothermal approximation can give qualitatively wrong answers. In this project, numerical simulations will be used to study disc-planet interactions in the non-isothermal regime to gain understanding of the evolution of planet and disc.

SPCS Academics: Sijme-Jan Paardekooper