dynamical effects

Though I do not pretend to be a classical dynamicist, I am interested in several dynamics-adjacent aspects of planet formation. In particular, I consider how fluids can alter dynamical processes. Take planet migration and orbital tidal decay for example. At a glance these could be considered dynamical problems; however since tidal decay is regulated by dissipation due to convective turbulence in the central star, it is fundamentally a problem of fluid dynamics. Similarly planet migration (at least types I, II, III), is a consequence of the fluid response of the surrounding protoplanetary disk and its resulting torque and also a problem of fluid dynamics.

Particle trajectories for highly-coupled pebbles around a forming planet. The panels (from left-to-right) show the effect of increasing planet eccentricity.

Below I have simply listed some ways in which these types of dynamical interactions have entered my work.

• can the convective envelope of WASP-12 explain observed tidal decay or is it some other dynamical effect?
• how fluid motions and aerodynamic drag can change the dynamics of solids (particles, dust, pebbles) and their delivery onto planets
• how the fluid properties of forming planets change given different dynamical conditions (e.g. moderately eccentric planets tend to form retrograde disks)