Planet Formation in the Inner Regions of Protoplanetary Discs

超地球大小的行星，在离其母恒星非常近的轨道上运行，似乎是行星形成过程的主要结果。然而，目前还没有关于它们形成的具体理论。为了定量地了解这些行星是如何从盘状气体和尘埃中出现的，我们(与我们的最后一名博士生、帝国主席博士生Marija Jankovic)开发了迄今为止最复杂的内盘气体结构数值模型之一。在此基础上，我们建议在内盘中建立第一个端到端的行星形成模型。我们将分两步进行：(1)将尘埃动力学及其对气体的反馈纳入我们的数值模型，以阐明在内盘中，尘埃颗粒在哪里以及如何合并成行星体-行星的基石。(2)对我们形成的行星体的动力学演化进行N体模拟，包括相互碰撞、鹅卵石吸积和气体相互作用，以研究行星体如何成长为行星，从而确定所产生的行星系统的结构(行星质量和轨道参数)。我们的工作将对支配近距离超级地球完整形成历史的物理学产生基本的见解，从尘埃颗粒到成熟的行星。

Super-Earth sized planets, orbiting very close to their parent stars, appear to be a dominant outcome of the planet formation process. However, no concrete theory for their formation exists. To quantitatively understand how these planets emerge from the disc gas and dust, we have developed (with our last PhD student, Imperial President's PhD Scholar Marija Jankovic) one of the most sophisticated numerical models to date of the gas structure in the inner disc. Building upon this, we propose to construct the first end-to-end model of planet formation in the inner disc. We shall proceed in two steps: (1) Incorporate dust dynamics and its feedback on the gas into our numerical model, to elucidate where and how, in the inner disc, dust grains amalgamate into planetesimals - the building blocks of planets. (2) Carry out N-body simulations of the dynamical evolution of the planetesimals we form, including mutual collisions, pebble accretion and gas interactions, to study how the planetesimals grow into planets, and thus determine the architecture (planetary masses and orbital parameters) of the resulting planetary systems. Our work will yield fundamental insights into the physics governing the full formation history of close-in super-Earths, all the way from dust grains to mature planets.