Speaker
Philip Armitage
(University of Colorado)
Description
Simple dynamical models for planet formation start from initial conditions in which planetesimals form across a broad range of radii in a smooth gas disk. Such conditions are hard to reconcile with current thinking, which emphasizes the primacy of aerodynamic drift, dead zones, and planetesimal formation via the streaming instability. I will discuss the possibility that most planet formation is seeded at particle traps, situated at radii where the physical conditions in the disk change abruptly. Such a model has some theoretical appeal, and I will discuss whether it could be consistent with Solar System and extrasolar planet observations.
Primary author
Philip Armitage
(University of Colorado)
