The formation of gas giant exoplanets

Astronomical observations in the last few decades have challenged our understanding of planet formation. It is believed that giant planets form either by core-accretion (the standard planet formation theory), i.e. the growth of dust particles to progressively larger aggregates until a solid core forms that can attract a gaseous envelope, or via disc instability, i.e. the gravitational fragmentation of massive protostellar discs. The standard planet formation theory was originally developed to explain our Solar System, which turned out to be totally different from observed exoplanetary systems. In this project, the student will use the radiative hydrodynamic code "Phantom" to perform a set of protostellar disc simulations to determine the properties of the protoplanets produced by disc fragmentation. He will first improve the code by including the effects of radiative transfer and develop a tracking algorithm to understand the properties of the gas that ends up in the planet. The main area of the project is on astrophysical hydrodynamics and planet formation that fall within the scope of STFC.