[DLS] Hubert Klahr (Max Planck Institute for Astronomy)

“Geophysical Turbulence in Dusty, Planet-Forming Disks around Young Stars”

Protoplanetary disks and planetary atmospheres may appear to be vastly different systems, not least because of their contrasting scales. Yet they share many of the same underlying physical ingredients. Both are rotating systems in which differential stellar heating gives rise to baroclinicity, and both exhibit dynamical effects that can be understood through connections to the β-plane framework of geophysical fluid dynamics.

In this talk, I will review thermal baroclinic instabilities in disks around young stars and discuss how the resulting turbulence sets the stage for the formation of planetesimals—the precursors of comets, asteroids, and the first planetary embryos. I will then contrast baroclinicity driven by temperature gradients with that arising from spatial variations in the dust-to-gas ratio. This comparison offers a complementary perspective on the streaming instability, highlighting the roles of dust-induced buoyancy and baroclinic dynamics beyond its interpretation as a resonant drag instability.

EAPS Department Lecture Series —

Weekly talks aimed to bring together the entire EAPS community, given by leading thinkers in the areas of geology, geophysics, geobiology, geochemistry, atmospheric science, oceanography, climatology, and planetary science. Runs concurrently with class 12.S501.

Contact: eapsinfo@mit.edu