diploma thesis
title
Akkretion und Gasströmung.
author
Simon Künzli.
supervisor
Willy Benz (University of Bern).
abstract
In the process of planetary formation, growth of meter-sized bodies is not well understood. Since surface forces are no longer effective and gravity is still much too weak, two body collisions result in fragmentation rather than growth. Wurm et al. (2001) have recently proposed a new mechanism in planetesimal formation. The nebular gas flow may drag ejected dust grains back to the parent body, and after one or more inelastic bounces, the grains will have reduced their velocity and be accreted. We investigate the importance of this aerodynamical accretion for planetesimal growth in the protosolar nebula with the aid of a Monte-Carlo model. Our computational results show that gas flow provides accretion only in a very restricted parameter space. Within our model assumptions, we consider aerodynamical accretion not as a dominant growth mechanism for meter-sized bodies in the protosolar nebula.