The formation of gas giant exoplanets

过去几十年的天文观测挑战了我们对行星形成的理解。据信，巨行星的形成要么是核心吸积（标准行星形成理论），即尘埃颗粒逐渐增长为更大的聚集体，直到形成一个可以吸引气体包层的固体核心，要么是通过圆盘不稳定性，即大质量原恒星圆盘的引力碎片。标准的行星形成理论最初是为了解释我们的太阳系而开发的，它与观测到的系外行星系统完全不同。在这个项目中，学生将使用辐射流体动力学代码“幻影”来执行一组原恒星盘模拟，以确定由盘碎片产生的原行星的属性。他将首先通过包括辐射传输的影响来改进代码，并开发一种跟踪算法来了解最终进入行星的气体的性质。该项目的主要领域是天体物理学流体动力学和行星形成，属于科学技术和金融中心的范围。

Astronomical observations in the last few decades have challenged our understanding of planet formation. It is believed that giant planets form either by core-accretion (the standard planet formation theory), i.e. the growth of dust particles to progressively larger aggregates until a solid core forms that can attract a gaseous envelope, or via disc instability, i.e. the gravitational fragmentation of massive protostellar discs. The standard planet formation theory was originally developed to explain our Solar System, which turned out to be totally different from observed exoplanetary systems. In this project, the student will use the radiative hydrodynamic code "Phantom" to perform a set of protostellar disc simulations to determine the properties of the protoplanets produced by disc fragmentation. He will first improve the code by including the effects of radiative transfer and develop a tracking algorithm to understand the properties of the gas that ends up in the planet. The main area of the project is on astrophysical hydrodynamics and planet formation that fall within the scope of STFC.