Institute for Advanced Study Informal Astrophysics Seminar

The flow of disk material close to a planet, at separations of order r_H, the Hill radius, generates the largest transfer of angular momentum and mass between the planet and the circumstellar disk. For large, Jupiter-size planets, they typically have r_H larger than h, the disk's scale height, hence the flow structure is well approximated in 2D. In this regime we study how the balance between planetary and viscous torque opens gaps in disks, and derive scaling relations for how empty these gaps are. Small, Earth-size planets, on the other hand, have r_H < h, and consequently one expects significant vertical variations in the flow. Our new, GPU-accelerated hydrodynamics code PEnGUIn allows for high-resolution 3D simulations of the global flow around the planet's orbit. Our results demonstrate that the 3D treatment for disk-planet interaction gives rise to new, and potentially dominant, aspects of both planetary migration and accretion.