Johannes Bahrenberg   (Germany)

 bahrenberg @ mpia.de

The Growth of Super-Earths in the Inner Disk with Global 3D Hydrodynamic Models

The goal of my work is to understand the physical processes that govern the growth of young terrestrial planets. To achieve this, I model the inner region of a protoplanetary disk with an embedded planet using hydrodynamical simulations.

From a numerical perspective, efficient simulations are challenging due to the vast range of spatial scales between the planet and the disk. To address this, I employ an adaptive grid approach that allows for high resolution around the planet. By combining high-resolution three-dimensional simulations with an analytical temperature structure, we aim to gain new insights into the mechanisms of planet formation. Building on my earlier work, the project may also be extended to include magnetohydrodynamical (MHD) simulations.

Key questions of my research include: Where does the material accreted by the planet originate within the disk? What determines the pebble flux and the pebble isolation mass (the mass at which a growing planet blocks the inward drift of solid material)? And how does a young planet shape the structure of its parent disk?

In a later stage of the project, I will combine these models with radiative transfer simulations to predict observable signatures of young, embedded planets. With powerful future telescopes such as the Extremely Large Telescope (ELT), some of whose instruments are being built at MPIA, it may become possible to infer the presence of newly formed terrestrial planets from disk observations.

Supervisor:    Mario Flock   (MPIA)