The Role of Ferromagnetic Iron in Planetesimal Formation

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Iron is among the most abundant elements in protoplanetary disks. There is ample evidence that also metallic iron is present during early phases of planet formation. Since it is generally accepted that planet formation starts with the aggregation of dust particles, the question is which role iron plays during this process. So far, work on planetesimal formation in the inner regions of protoplanetary disks concentrated on the physics of silicates and their growth. However, recent models predict that iron particles might have a strong influence on the growth process. This is especially true as they interact with the magnetic field of the disks. In this project the evolution of different metal-silicate mixtures in magnetic fields of relevant strengths colliding with velocities beyond the fragmentation limit will be studied in experiments for the first time. As extreme scenario, this process will lead to a local and compositional selective initiation of planetesimal formation.