Characterization of young accreting planets II: Consistent dust evolution and chemistry (Part II)

In the first funding phase we were able to develop and implement the neccessary expansions into the PLUTO code for our desired high resolution studies of gas accretion of planets embedded in disks by performing Radiation Hydro Dynamical simulations of a wide range of disk masses, planet masses and locations. We also developed the radiation transport tools to a stage where the dissipative terms from the radiation hydro (viscosity, shocks, PdV work) are incorporated, thus the overall temperature structure of MC radiation and FLD simulations agree sufficiently. In 3 papers submitted / in preparation we are currently presenting the results on the hydro simulations, the comparison of FLD and MC as well as a catalogue of detection signatures of planets at various frequencies.

In the second phase of this proposal we will adopt the potential of the PLUTO code to implement the evolution of the local 3D dust population along with the gas evolution, by developing a new two-population dust model based on previous 1D and 2D studies. We will also solve a restricted chemical network along with the hydro (for either “hot” chemistry: Ionised species of H, He, C, N, O etc. or for “cool” dust chemistry, i.e. dust grain based chemistry). That shall give us the opportunity to estimate the local abundance of molecules as basis for detailed radiation transport (MC) models to pin down the observable characteristics of accretion heating in new detail.

These new 3D data sets of dust and molecules can then be analysed by our MC tools, for which we will develop / adapt new routines in the MC framework.