Numerical simulations of disc-planet interactions

Abstract

The gravitational interaction between a protoplanetary disc and planetary sized bodies that form within it leads to the exchange of angular momentum, resulting in migration of the planets and possible gap formation in the disc for more massive planets. In this article, we review the basic theory of disc-planet interactions, and discuss the results of recent numerical simulations of planets embedded in protoplanetary discs. We consider the migration of low mass planets and recent developments in our understanding of so-called type I migration when a fuller treatment of the disc thermodynamics is included. We discuss the runaway migration of intermediate mass planets (so-called type III migration), and the migration of giant planets (type II migration) and the associated gap formation in the disc. The availability of high performance computing facilities has enabled global simulations of magnetised, turbulent discs to be computed, and we discuss recent results for both low and high mass planets embedded in such discs.

17 pages, 17 figures. Invited Review to appear in Advanced Science Letters (ASL), Special Issue on Computational Astrophysics, edited by Lucio Mayer

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