Meridional circulation of gas into gaps opened by giant planets in three-dimensional low-viscosity disks

• Published in: Icarus (New York, N.Y. 1962) Vol. 232; pp. 266 - 270
• Main Authors: Morbidelli, A., Szulágyi, J., Crida, A., Lega, E., Bitsch, B., Tanigawa, T., Kanagawa, K.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier Inc 01-04-2014; Elsevier
• Subjects: Accretion; Accretion disks; Circulation; Computer simulation; Disks; Estimates; Jovian planets; Mathematical Physics; Physics; Planet-disk interactions; Planetary formation; Planets; Protoplanets; Sciences of the Universe; Three dimensional; Accretion; Jovian planets; Planet-disk interactions; Planetary formation
• ISSN: 0019-1035; 1090-2643
• DOI: 10.1016/j.icarus.2014.01.010

We examine the gas circulation near a gap opened by a giant planet in a protoplanetary disk. We show with high resolution 3D simulations that the gas flows into the gap at high altitude over the mid-plane, at a rate dependent on viscosity. We explain this observation with a simple conceptual model. From this model we derive an estimate of the amount of gas flowing into a gap opened by a planet with Hill radius comparable to the scale-height of a layered disk (i.e. a disk with viscous upper layer and inviscid midplane). Our estimate agrees with modern MRI simulations (Gressel, O., Nelson, R.P., Turner, N.J., Ziegler, U. [2013]. arXiv:1309.2871). We conclude that gap opening in a layered disk cannot slow down significantly the runaway gas accretion of Saturn to Jupiter-mass planets.