Modelling photo-evaporation in planet forming discs

Abstract

Planets are born from the gas and dust discs surrounding young stars. Energetic radiation from the central star can drive thermal outflows from the discs atmospheres, strongly affecting the evolution of the discs and the nascent planetary system. In this context several numerical models of varying complexity have been developed to study the process of disc photoevaporation from their central stars. We describe the numerical techniques, the results and the predictivity of current models and identify observational tests to constrain them.

25 pages, 2 figures, 1 Table, Invited Review for The European Physical Journal Plus