1202.5608 (Paul C. Duffell et al.)

Global Calculations of Density Waves and Gap Formation in Protoplanetary Disks using a Moving Mesh    [PDF]

Paul C. Duffell, Andrew I. MacFadyen

We calculate the global quasi-steady state of a thin disk perturbed by a low-mass protoplanet orbiting at a fixed radius using extremely high-resolution numerical integrations of Euler's equations in two dimensions. The calculations are carried out using a moving computational domain, which greatly reduces advection errors and allows for much longer time-steps than a fixed grid. We calculate the angular momentum flux and the torque density as a function of radius and compare them with analytical predictions. We discuss the quasi-steady state after 100 orbits and the prospects for gap formation by low mass planets.

View original: http://arxiv.org/abs/1202.5608