On the evolution of vortices in massive protoplanetary discs

Abstract

It is expected that a pressure bump can be formed at the inner edge of a dead-zone, and where vortices can develop through the Rossby Wave Instability (RWI). It has been suggested that self-gravity can significantly affect the evolution of such vortices. We present the results of 2D hydrodynamical simulations of the evolution of vortices forming at a pressure bump in self-gravitating discs with Toomre parameter in the range $4-30$. We consider isothermal plus non-isothermal disc models that employ either the classical $\beta$ prescription or a more realistic treatment for cooling. The main aim is to investigate whether the condensating effect of self-gravity can stabilize vortices in sufficiently massive discs. We confirm that in isothermal disc models with $\mathcal{Q}\gtrsim 15$, vortex decay occurs due to the vortex self-gravitational torque. For discs with $3\lesssim \mathcal{Q}\lesssim 7$, the vortex develops gravitational instabilities within its core and undergoes gravitational collapse, whereas more massive discs give rise to the formation of global eccentric modes. In non-isothermal discs with $\beta$ cooling, the vortex maintains a turbulent core prior to undergoing gravitational collapse for $\beta \lesssim 0.1$, whereas it decays if $\beta \ge 1$. In models that incorpore both self-gravity and a better treatment for cooling, however, a stable vortex is formed with aspect ratio $\chi \sim 3-4$. Our results indicate that self-gravity significantly impacts the evolution of vortices forming in protoplanetary discs, although the thermodynamical structure of the vortex is equally important for determining its long-term dynamics.

Accepted in MNRAS

References in corpus (6)

• A comparative study of disc-planet interaction
• Breaking the Chains: Hot Super-Earth systems from migration and disruption of compact resonant chains
• Migration and the formation of systems of hot super-Earths and Neptunes
• Vortex stretching in self-gravitating protoplanetary discs
• Gap formation and stability in non-isothermal protoplanetary discs
• Vortex survival in 3D self-gravitating accretion discs

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• Rossby Wave Instabilities of Protoplanetary Discs with Cooling
• Constraining the masses of planets in protoplanetary discs from the presence or absence of vortices -- Comparison with ALMA observations
• On the vortex evolution in non-isothermal protoplanetary discs
• Self-Sustaining Vortices in Protoplanetary Disks: Setting the Stage for Planetary System Formation
• On the evolution of vortex in locally isothermal self-gravitating discs: a parameter study
• Stability of Dusty Rings in Protoplanetary Discs