Planet Embryos in Vortex Wombs: Protoplanetary Disks and the Formation of Planetesimals

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AST-0302146Barranco, JosephDr. Barranco is awarded an NSF Astronomy and Astrophysics Postdoctoral Fellowship to carry out a program of research and education at the Kavli Institute for Theoretical Physics at the University of California, Santa Barbara, and then at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics. He will pursue an integrated theoretical, computational, observational, and experimental program to study the dynamics of protoplanetary disks and the process of planet formation within them. High-resolution radio (millimeter and submillimeter) observations of dust emission can be used to construct detailed maps of non-axisymmetric features such as vortices, clumps, ring arcs and warps. Dr. Barranco will use three-dimensional, two-fluid simulations to model the gas and dust dynamics of the observed non-axisymmetric phenomena. The goal is to determine whether coherent structures in the gas flow can generate coherent structures in the particle concentration, and to elucidate what role this plays in the formation of the first generation of planetesimals. In addition to his research, Dr. Barranco will collaborate with the Algebra Project, a national mathematics literacy program. The Algebra Project focuses on helping low-income students and students of color (particularly African-American and Latino students) master algebra in middle school/junior high school, far earlier than the expectations of most urban/rural school districts. He will develop an algebra-based physics and astronomy curriculum that complements the goals of their program, namely math literacy, yet at the same time develops interest, intuition, appreciation, and perhaps passion, for the physical sciences. ***