Impact of dust diffusion on the rim shape of protoplanetary disks

TL;DR

This study explores how turbulence-induced dust diffusion significantly alters the shape and structure of protoplanetary disks, especially the inner rim, by affecting dust distribution and temperature profiles.

Contribution

It introduces a comprehensive model that incorporates dust sublimation, radiative transfer, and diffusion, revealing the substantial impact of dust diffusion on disk equilibrium and morphology.

Findings

Dust diffusion widens the inner disk considerably.

Increased diffusion steepens the inner rim's inclination.

Dust diffusion effects are independent of dust composition.

Abstract

Context. Multiple mechanisms are known to give rise to turbulence in protoplanetary disks, which facilitates the accretion onto the central star. Small dust particles that are well coupled to the gas undergo diffusion due to this turbulent motion. Aims. This paper investigates the influence of turbulence induced dust diffusion on the equilibrium of protoplanetary disks. Methods. The model accounts for dust sublimation, radiative transfer with the flux-limited diffusion approximation and dust diffusion. It predicts the density and temperature profiles as well as the dust-to-gas ratio of the disk. Results. It is shown that dust diffusion can have a large impact: assuming the dust survives for 104 seconds or longer before it can be evaporated, leads the dust diffusion to widen the inner disk considerably. The latter effect is generated through a feedback mechanism as the diffusion length is much smaller than the disk width. With increasing dust diffusion, the inclination of the inner rim towards the stellar radiation becomes steeper until it is almost vertical. The temperature range of evaporation and condensation, which is linked to the dust composition, has no influence on this effect. Conclusions. For realistic parameters dust diffusion can not be neglected when determining the equilibrium of the disk. Stronger turbulence inside the disk induces more dust diffusion. Therefore, the dust density grows more gradually over a greater distance and less radiation reaches the disk surface. The new equilibrium shape of the disk is more inclined towards the star. This effect is universal and independent of the specific dust composition.