Formation of planetary building blocks throughout time and space

Project Information

PLANETOIDS

Grant agreement ID: 101040037

DOI

10.3030/101040037

EC signature date 27 June 2022

Start date 1 September 2022

End date 31 August 2027

Funded under

• European Research Council (ERC)

Total cost

€ 1 447 091,25

EU contribution

€ 1 447 091,25

Coordinated by

MAX-PLANCK-GESELLSCHAFT ZUR FORDERUNG DER WISSENSCHAFTEN EV
Germany

Periodic Reporting for period 1 - PLANETOIDS (Formation of planetary building blocks throughout time and space)

Reporting period: 2022-09-01 to 2025-02-28

Summary of the context and overall objectives of the project

There are more planets than stars in our Galaxy. The planet formation process must be very widespread and happen under various conditions but it is still not well understood. Observationally, we only have access to its very beginning, when young stars are surrounded by disks of dust and gas, and its very end by detecting and characterizing exoplanets. However, its intermediate stages are not easily observed. Using novel numerical models, the PLANETOIDS project will create an all-inclusive framework including protoplanetary dust growth to the pebble-sized amalgamates, and the creation of planetesimals, the building blocks of planets. Specific focus will be given to planetesimal formation location, time, and number in the accretion disc, as well as influences of the host star. Despite the critical role of this phase in the planet formation process, global models addressing planetesimal formation are scarce. With PLANETOIDS, we will go beyond the state-of-the-art by combining the most advanced models of circumstellar disk formation and structure, dust evolution, planetesimal formation, and planetesimal growth in one comprehensive framework. The key objectives of PLANETOIDS are: 1) investigating how dust grows and circulates in wind-driven circumstellar disks, 2) understanding where, when, and how many planetesimals can emerge and how this result depends on the properties and environment of the host star, 3) exploring the pathways of fast planet formation required to explain the observations of young circumstellar disks. With these developments, it will become possible to self-consistently simulate the decisive early stages of planet formation for the first time. The awaited results are essential for explaining the origin of the Solar System and the diversity of exoplanets.

Work performed from the beginning of the project to the end of the period covered by the report and main results achieved so far

Within the PLANETOIDS project, we are developing various numerical methods. The Monte Carlo-based dust evolution code mcdust (soon to be publically available) is able to model dust growth and drift through the protoplanetary disk in two dimensions, radial and vertical. We have performed the first models of dust evolution in a wind-driven protoplanetary disk where the gas flow pattern leads to dust overdensities at certain locations in the disk. We have also implemented the possibility of including various materials with different sticking properties and are exploring the pathways in which refractory inclusions may be incorporated into different meteorite classes. With the publically available code DD-diskevol, we are investigating the planetesimal formation, particularly at the early stages of protoplanetary disk evolution. Because in these new planet formation models, protoplanets grow quickly, it is important to study their impact on the surrounding disk. Using state-of-the-art hydrodynamic code FARGO3D, we are investigating dust evolution in the vicinity of gap-opening planets.

Progress beyond the state of the art and expected potential impact (including the socio-economic impact and the wider societal implications of the project so far)

Our group is leading the efforts toward building a self-consistent model for planet formation. We are developing numerical codes employing a range of methods to capture the physics involved in planet formation. We are exploring the synergy between astrophysics models and Solar System materials to gain deeper insights into the processes that led to the formation of the meteorite parent bodies. We have been performing detailed models for dust evolution in protoplanetary disks and are working toward creating a simplified model that will be used for many different central stars and star-forming environments with the goal of explaining the sources of exoplanet diversity.