Aerodynamic properties of high porosity dust

Tsubasa Morikawa  (Kagoshima University)

In protoplanetary disks, the growth of dust aggregates is the first step in planet formation. Previous studies have suggested that the aerodynamic properties of dust aggregates with high porosity, so-called fluffy dust, can solve the radial drift problem in the classical model of the planet formation. However, the aerodynamic properties of dust aggregates, which are the basis of this model, have not been clarified yet and have been calculated using the properties of a uniform sphere.

In this study, we aim to validate the assumption that the aerodynamic properties of fluffy dust aggregates can be represented by those of uniform spheres. To achieve this, we utilize SPARTA, a statistical simulation code based on the DSMC (Direct Simulation Monte Carlo) method.