Leonardo Krapp

Assistant professor
Universidad de Concepcion

lkrapp@udec.cl 

I am a computational astrophysicist currently working as an assistant professor at the University of Concepcion. My research interests concern Planet Formation and the fields of non-ideal Magnetohydrodynamics and dust dynamics. I am also interested in multi-species dynamics in Protoplanetary Disks. I am a co-developer of the multi-fluid version of the code FARGO3D. From September 2022-2024 I was a 51 Pegasi b Fellow working in collaboration with the Heising-Simons Foundation.


RESEARCH HIGHLIGHTS

A thermodynamic criterion for the formation of Circumplanetary disks

In Krapp et al. (2024) we performed multi-fluid radiation hydrodynamics global three-dimensional simulations to study circumplanetary disks around Jovian planets in wider orbits. Our work shows the necessary condition for the formation of circumplanetary disks in terms of a mean cooling time: when the cooling time is at least one order of magnitude shorter than the orbital time scale, the specific angular momentum of the gas is nearly Keplerian at scales of RHill/3.

The 3D Dust and Opacity Distribution of Protoplanets

In Krapp et al. (2021) we performed multi-fluid global three-dimensional simulations to characterize of the dust density, mass flux, and mean opacities in the envelope of sub-thermal and super-thermal mass planets. Our work calls into question the adoption of a constant opacity derived from well-mixed distributions and demonstrates the need for global radiation hydrodynamics models of giant planet formation which account for dust dynamics.

Streaming Instability for Particle-Size Distribution

In Krapp et al. (2019) we presented the first systematic study of the multispecies streaming instability (SI). In this work, the dust component is characterized by a particle-size distribution. The growth of the multi-species SI significantly differs from that of the two-fluid SI.

Dust Settling Instability in Protoplanetary Disks

In Krapp et al. (2020) we study the linear and non-linear evolution of the dust settling (and streaming) instability. Our results strongly disfavour the hypothesis that the DSI significantly promotes planetesimal formation. 

FARGO3D Multi-Fluid

In Benitez-Llambay et al. (2019) and Krapp & Benitez-Llambay (2020), we presented a novel unconditionally stable numerical scheme that efficiently solves the momentum transfer between an arbitrary number of species. We have implemented this numerical method in the publicly available code FARGO3D. 

Dust Segregation in Hall-dominated PPDs

The plot shows the results from Krapp et al. (2018). These simulations included the Ohmic diffusion and the Hall effect. The large-scale concentrations of magnetic flux induce long-lived Super-Keplerian velocity regions where the different dust densities are enhanced and segregated. 

Postdoctoral Research Fellow (2019-2024)

I am Postdoctoral Research Associate at Steward Observatory, at the University of Arizona, and a member of the Theoretical and Computational Astrophysics Network (TCAN).

PhD (2016-2019)

During my PhD I was working in the Theoretical Astrophysics Group, at the Niels Bohr International Academy, Niels Bohr Institute, University of Copenhagen, Denmark.

Licenciatura en Astronomía (2010-2015)

I obtained my degree in Astronomy in 2015 at FaMAF, Universidad Nacional de Córdoba, Córdoba, Argentina.

Outreach

Located at the city of Sunchales in Argentina, a group of outstanding astronomers dedicate their time to the public dissemination of science, overcoming the challenge of bringing the astronomy to the community.