Open AccessGravitationally unstable protoplanetary discs
Author(s) -
Griv Evgeny
Publication year - 2006
Publication title -
monthly notices of the royal astronomical society
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.058
H-Index - 383
eISSN - 1365-2966
pISSN - 0035-8711
DOI - 10.1111/j.1365-2966.2005.09792.x
Subject(s) - physics , wkb approximation , astrophysics , rotational symmetry , angular momentum , planet , protoplanetary disk , instability , gravitational instability , gravitational collapse , astronomy , classical mechanics , mechanics , galaxy , quantum mechanics
The possibility that protoplanetary gaseous discs are dynamically unstable to axisymmetric and non‐axisymmetric gravity perturbations (e.g. those produced by spontaneous disturbances) with characteristic scales larger than the vertical scale height is discussed analytically, using a local Wentzel–Kramers–Brillouin (WKB) approach. It is shown that such discs might be clumpy, and these gravitationally bound clumps may later collapse to become giant planets (‘hot Jupiters’). The chief aim in this paper is to underscore a fact of vital importance for application in the planetary formation process: gravitationally unstable non‐axisymmetric (spiral) perturbations can effectively transport both the angular momentum and the mass in a spatially inhomogeneous disc.