Global Simulations of Gravitational Instability in Protostellar Disks with Full Radiation Transport. I. Stochastic Fragmentation with Optical-depth-dependent Rate and Universal Fragment Mass

Wenrui Xu, Yan-Fei Jiang, Matthew W. Kunz +1

Fragmentation in a gravitationally unstable accretion disk can be an important pathway for forming stellar/planetary companions. To characterize quantitatively the condition for an…