Next Tuesday (8-13-13), 10 AM, please join the Department of Astronomy in
Phillips for a presentation by graduate student, Diego Munoz, entitled:
"Modeling and Simulation of Circumstellar Disks with the Next Generation of Hydrodynamic Solvers"
Abstract
Although the theory of planet formation is still incomplete, there is
unanimous consensus that planets form in circumstellar disks of gas and
dust. However, even though many (if not most) stars form in binaries, the
effects of stellar multiples on circumstellar disk evolution remain
relatively unexplored. The lack of symmetry, importance of tidal
perturbations, fully three-dimensional configurations, and supersonic
velocities in young multiple stellar systems demand modeling by direct
numerical simulation. However, the results can depend greatly on the
numerical method employed.
In this thesis talk, I will describe the applications of the novel
moving-mesh code AREPO to problems of circumstellar disks with geometric
configurations that present important computational challenges to
conventional hydrodynamic solvers. These problems include planet-disk,
star-disk and disk-disk interactions. I will explain the moving-mesh
approach, discuss the importance of numerical simulations in modern
astrophysics, and review the increased attention codes are receiving as
objects of study. I will discuss the modeling of circumstellar disks in
AREPO, starting with two-dimensional, isolated systems,and ending with
fully three-dimensional, self-gravitating thin disks in configurations with
more than one star.