Obstacles to the Collisional Growth of Planetesimals

dc.creatorYoudin, Andrew N.
dc.date2003-11-07
dc.date.accessioned2026-07-07T02:11:07Z
dc.date.available2026-07-07T02:11:07Z
dc.descriptionThe debate over whether kilometer-sized solids, or planetesimals, assemble by collision-induced chemical sticking or by gravity-driven unstable modes remains unsettled. In light of recent work showing that gravitational growth can occur despite turbulent stirring, we critically evaluate the collisional hypothesis. Impact speeds in protoplanetary disks reach 50 m/s in a laminar disk and may be larger in turbulent disks. We consider the role of elastic and plastic deformations, restructuring of "rubble piles," and sticky organic matter. Coagulation is possible for dust grains with large surface area-to-volume ratios. Simple energetic arguments show that bouncing, cratering, and fragmentation should dominate collisional dynamics between millimeter and kilometer sizes.
dc.description8 pages, 1 figure, in ASP proceedings of "Star Formation in the Interstellar Medium, a workshop honoring David Hollenbach, Chris McKee, & Frank Shu," eds. F.C. Adams, D. Johnstone, D.N.C. Lin, & E.C. Ostriker
dc.identifierhttps://arxiv.org/abs/astro-ph/0311191
dc.identifierhttp://arxiv.org/abs/astro-ph/0311191
dc.identifier.urihttp://salesiana.dossiersoluciones.com/handle/123456789/6969
dc.subjectAstrophysics
dc.titleObstacles to the Collisional Growth of Planetesimals
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