[PLS] Marcelo Barraza-Alfaro (MIT)

“Unveiling the origin mechanism of turbulence in protoplanetary disks”

Gas turbulence has a significant impact on planet formation and the evolution of protoplanetary disks. However, fully understanding its role in the planet formation process requires unveiling its origin and measuring its strength. In my talk, I will present predictions for the observability of turbulence-driving disk instabilities in high-resolution ALMA data. We find that ALMA can detect the large-scale turbulent motions driven by disk instabilities in the outer disk kinematic structure. Furthermore, our study shows that signatures induced by a turbulent cascade are distinct from those of current models used to constrain its strength. These predictions will enable the unambiguous detection of turbulence-driving mechanisms in planet-forming disks. Moreover, our predictions will help improve the accuracy of turbulence level measurements in protoplanetary disks.

Planetary Lunch Seminar —

Colloquia topics span the range of research interests of the department’s planetary sciences research program, and the talks are intended to appeal to any graduate students, postdocs, research scientists, and faculty with a background in planetary science. Speakers include members of the MIT community and visitors.

Contact: planetary-org@mit.edu