Astronomy Seminar: Testing the Streaming Instability as the Mechanism for Planetesimal Formation
| Date/Time: | Friday, 08 Nov 2019 from 4:10 pm to 5:10 pm |
|---|---|
| Location: | 38 Physics |
| Contact: | Curt Struck |
| Phone: | 515-294-5440 |
| Channel: | College of Liberal Arts and Sciences |
| Actions: | Download iCal/vCal | Email Reminder |
How planetesimals form is one of the biggest unanswered questions in planet formation theory. There have been a number of mechanisms proposed, but the leading mechanism, a process known as the streaming instability, has only recently been put to the test by comparing with planetesimals in our Solar System.
In this talk, I will introduce the streaming instability as a solution to the planetesimal formation problem. I will then describe work that I (and my group) have done in the past few years to quantify the initial mass function of planetesimals. I will build on this with a new, updated analysis that has improved our understanding of the mass function and is now allowing for a more detailed comparison with properties of asteroids and KBOs. I will also discuss a separate test of the streaming instability paradigm that has garnered significant support for it as the solution to the planetesimal formation problem. Finally, I will wrap up with new project directions and a brief discussion of future work.