3.16 Instituto de Astrofísica

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Browsing 3.16 Instituto de Astrofísica by Subject "523.2"

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    Dusty clumps in circumbinary discs.
    (2019) Poblete Rivera, Pedro Pablo A.; Cuello, Nicolás; Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile. Instituto de Astrofísica
    Protoplanetary discs are structures formed by gas and dust that form during the first stages of the stellar evolution. Protoplanetary discs also are the birthplace of planets, moons, and asteroids like the ones we observe in our Solar System. However, protoplanetary disc structure varies amongst different systems. A good understanding of disc evolution and dynamics is required for a comprehensive view of planet formation. Recent observations have revealed that protoplanetary discs often exhibit cavities and azimuthal asymmetries such as dust traps and clumps. The presence of a stellar binary system in the inner disc regions has been proposed to explain the formation of these structures. In that case, the protoplanetary disc should be reclassified as circumbinary. Here, I study the dust and gas dynamics in circumbinary discs around eccentric and inclined binaries. This is done through two-fluid simulations of circumbinary discs, considering different values of the binary eccentricity and inclination. The simulations are made using phantom; a three-dimensional smoothed particle hydrodynamics code. I find that two kinds of dust structures can form in the disc: a single horseshoe-shaped clump, on top of a similar gaseous over-density; or numerous clumps, distributed along the inner disc rim. The latter features form through the complex interplay between the dust particles and the gaseous spirals caused by the binary. All these clumps survive between one and several tens of orbital periods at the feature location. I show that their evolution strongly depends on the gas–dust coupling and the binary parameters. Interestingly, these asymmetric features could in principle be used to infer or constrain the orbital parameters of a stellar companion — potentially unseen — inside the inner disc cavity. Finally, I apply these findings to the disc around AB Aurigae. The dusty clumps observed in this work suggest that circumbinary discs are promising places to form planetesimals and even planets, contrary to what was previously thought due to high relative velocity among solids.