ASIAA Summer Students Program
ASIAA Summer Student Program 2024
July 1 - August 30

2024 Project Description

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Radial convection and vortex formation in protoplanetary disks

Keywords:
Astrophysical Fluid Dynamics
Computational Astrophysics
Hydrodynamic Instabilities
Numerical Simulations
Planet Formation
Protoplanetary Disks
Theoretical Astrophysics

Supervisors

Min-Kai Lin, Marius Lehmann
Find out more about supervisors on ASIAA website

Task Description and Goals

Planets are formed from dust grains embedded in gaseous protoplanetary disks around young stars. Hydrodynamic instabilities in the gas, which drive turbulence and structure formation, directly impact the dust dynamics. One example is the "convective overstability" (COS) --- a form of radial convection --- that may occur in particular regions in the disk. However, the nonlinear evolution of the COS is still not well explored. In this project, the student will carry out numerical simulations of the COS using the Python-based Dedalus spectral code to study 1) the influence of radial boundaries, and 2) the formation and evolution of large-scale zonal flows and vortices. The student will run simulations, analyze and interpret the data, and write results. The student will have access to the Kawas cluster at ASIAA, the ASGC clusters at Academia Sinica, as well as the Taiwania-3 cluster at the National Center for High-performance Computing.

Successful completion of this project is expected to lead to a first-author publication by the student. Past publications from the supervisor's summer students include Chen & Lin (2018); Chen & Lin (2020); Bi, Lin, & Dong (2021); and Wu et al. (2023).

Required Background

Mandatory: Mathematical or physical sciences, basic calculus and partial differential equations, Python or other programming languages, English communication skills
Useful: Fluid dynamics, high-performance computing

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