Large grains can grow in circumstellar discs

Abstract

We perform coagulation & fragmentation simulations to understand grain growth in T Tauri & brown dwarf discs. We present a physically-motivated approach using a probability distribution function for the collision velocities and separating the deterministic & stochastic velocities. We find growth to larger sizes compared to other models. Furthermore, if brown dwarf discs are scaled-down versions of T Tauri discs (in terms of stellar & disc mass, and disc radius), growth at the same location with respect to the outer edge occurs to similar sizes in both discs.

Submitted to the conference proceedings of the IAU Symposium 299 - Exploring the formation and evolution of planetary systems. 2 pages; 2 figures