Project description
Shedding light on the enigmatic whirl of dust and gas from which planets are formed
Spinning around nascent stars are flattened disc-like clouds of gas and dust (circumstellar disks) believed to be the origins of planetary systems. Modern telescopes have captured crescents, spirals and winds within the discs, suggesting things are pretty nonlinear in there. However, recent evidence suggests they may actually exhibit very low turbulence due to the small fraction of charged particles and thus poor coupling to the magnetic field. Current understanding is based on crude modelling of the hypothetical magneto-hydrodynamic forces (related to the magnetic properties of the ionised gas) guiding the formation and evolution of these discs. The EU-funded MHDiscs project is developing advanced models integrating self-organising principles and magnetothermal winds as additional drivers of circumstellar disc evolution to enhance our understanding of planetary formation.
Objective
Circumstellar discs are the birthplaces of planets. They form around young protostars and dissipate in a few million years. Modern submillimeter and optical telescopes such as ALMA and VLT/SPHERE are now able
to resolve thin structures in the bulk of these objects, such as rings, crescents, spirals and winds, probing the very origin of planetary systems similar to our own. Our current understanding of these discs relies on a very crude modelling of a hypothetic magneto-hydrodynamic (MHD) turbulence thought to play an essential role in the evolution and structure of these systems. However, there is now compelling theoretical and observational evidence that these discs are weakly turbulent, if not laminar, because of their low ionisation fraction and thus poor coupling to the magnetic field. This suggests that subtle MHD processes are driving the dynamics of these objects.
Moreover, my recent theoretical breakthroughs demonstrate that these gaseous discs are subject to self-organisation and magneto-thermal winds. These processes play a key role for the disc as they can control its radial structure and evolution. I propose that computing global non-ideal MHD models from massively parallel numerical simulations will shed a new light on these processes, connecting the long-term evolution of these discs to the formation of large scale structures seen by ALMA and SPHERE. We expect MHDiscs to provide reliable global evolution models by coupling gas dynamics to dust and irradiation. These models will be used to predict discriminant observables of the processes I propose, setting the stage for a deeper understanding of the formation of planetary systems.
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
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Keywords
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Programme(s)
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
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H2020-EU.1.1. - EXCELLENT SCIENCE - European Research Council (ERC)
MAIN PROGRAMME
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Topic(s)
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Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Funding Scheme
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
ERC-COG - Consolidator Grant
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Call for proposal
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
(opens in new window) ERC-2018-COG
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75794 PARIS
France
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