Radial drift in warped protoplanetary disks

TL;DR

This paper analytically investigates how warping in protoplanetary disks can create dust traps, potentially solving the meter-size barrier in planet formation by revealing new mechanisms for dust accumulation.

Contribution

It provides the first analytical derivation of radial drift in warped disks, showing how warping can naturally lead to dust trap formation.

Findings

Radial drift in warped disks differs from flat disks.

Warping can induce dust traps through pressure gradients and precession effects.

Dust traps may form in various accretion disks, including AGN disks.

Abstract

The meter-size barrier in protoplanetary disks is a major challenge in planet formation, for which many solutions were suggested. One of the leading solutions is dust traps, that halt or slow the inward migration of dust particles. The source and profile of these traps are still not completely known. Warped disks are ubiquitous among accretion disks in general and protoplanetary disks in particular, and the warping could lead naturally to the formation of dust traps. Dust traps in warped disks could rise not only from pressure gradients, but also due to different precession rates between gas and dust. Here we derive analytically the radial drift in warped disks, and demonstrate derivation for some specific conditions. The radial drift in warped protoplanetary disks is qualitatively different, and depending on the structure of the disk, dust traps could form due to the warping. Similar processes could lead to the formation of traps also in other accretion disks such as AGN disks.