From Streaming Instability to the Onset of Pebble Accretion I. Investigating the Growth Modes in Planetesimal Rings

TL;DR

This study models the early growth of planetesimals formed by streaming instability into planetary embryos within rings, highlighting the dependence on distance from the star and stellar mass, and assessing conditions for pebble accretion onset.

Contribution

It introduces a semi-analytic model to simulate planetesimal growth in rings formed by streaming instability across different stellar environments.

Findings

Inner disk rings produce embryos quickly.

Outer disk rings show limited growth.

Lower-mass stars have slower embryo growth.

Abstract

Context. The localized formation of planetesimals can be triggered with the help of streaming instability when the local pebble density is high. This can happen at various locations in the disk leading to the formation of local planetesimal rings. The planetesimals in these rings subsequently grow from mutual collisions and by pebble accretion. Aims. We investigate the early growth of protoplanetary embryos from a ring of planetesimals created from streaming instability to see if they reach sizes where they accrete pebbles efficiently. Methods. We simulate the early stages of planet formation for rings of planetesimals that we assume were created by streaming instability at various separations from the star and for various stellar masses using a semi-analytic model. Results. The rings in the inner disk are able to produce protoplanetary embryos in a short time whereas at large separations there is little to no growth. The growth of the largest bodies is significantly slower around lower-mass stars. Conclusions. The formation of planetary embryos from filaments during the disk lifetime is possible but strongly dependent on the separation from the star and the mass of the host star. It remains difficult to form the seeds of pebble accretion early in the outer disk \sim 50AU, especially for low-mass stars.