Japanese astrophysicists explained the absence of planets in the rings of protoplanetary discs Their simulations on a supercomputer have shown that planets can leave the protoplanetary disk immediately after their formation. An article dedicated to this mystery was published in The Astrophysical Journal.
Young stars are often surrounded by protoplanetary disks made of gas and dust. The conducted observations show that there are many variants of rings of different densities in them, in which “gaps” are often marked. The presence of such structures can be explained by gravitational effects from the planets forming in the disks, but observations have not yet found them near the disks.
A team of astrophysicists simulated on the supercomputer of the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan ATERUI II a case when the planet “migrates” from the place its original appearance. It turned out that at a low viscosity of the disk, the ring formed at the site of the planet's formation may not follow it, but remain in its place.
The calculations of the researchers showed that this process has three phases. In the first, the planet moves closer to the star, and its ring remains in place. In the course of the second, the original ring gradually deforms, and a new one begins to form in the planet's new orbit. In the third phase, the original ring disappears. The identified phases are in good agreement with observational data, astrophysicists note.