circumplanetary disks
Theoretical considerations, observational signatures, and the generic presence of coplanar moons all seem to suggest the existence of circumplanetary disks (CPDs) at some point during the formation history of high mass planets. In addition to being the sites of moon formation, these disks would also set final planet masses and rotation by regulating gas accretion and angular momentum transfer. With these considerations in mind, a fraction of my attention is devoted to the simulation and modeling of circumplanetary disks.
Simulating CPDs is no easy task however, as the scale separation and modeling various physics offer unique computational challenges. Modeling the observational signatures of these objects for example, requires a suitable method of radiative transfer. Similarly, angular momentum transfer and magnetic braking can only be properly simulated in 3-dimensions with non-ideal magnetohydrodynamics. While some findings related to CPD dynamics can be found accompanying my existing papers (e.g. moderately eccentric planets form retrograde CPDs), developing and analyzing further simulations exploring circumplanetary disk dynamics with the proper physics is an ongoing focus of my work.