The interaction of a giant planet with a disc with MHD turbulence II: The interaction of the planet with the disc

Richard P. Nelson, John C. B. Papaloizou

Published 2002-11-22Version 1

We present a global MHD simulation of a turbulent accretion disc interacting with a protoplanet of 5 Jupiter masses. The disc model had H/r=0.1,and a value of the Shakura & Sunyaev alpha ~ 0.005. The protoplanet opened a gap in the disc, with the interaction leading to inward migration on the expected time scale. Spiral waves were launched by the protoplanet and although they were diffused and dissipated through interaction with the turbulence, they produced an outward angular momentum flow which compensated for a reduced flux associated with the turbulence, so maintaining the gap. When compared with laminar disc models with the same estimated alpha, the gap was found to be deeper and wider indicating that the turbulent disc behaved as if it possessed a smaller alpha. This may arise for two reasons. First, the turbulence does not provide a source of constantly acting friction in the near vicinity of the planet that leads to steady mass flow into the gap region. Instead the turbulence is characterised by large fluctuations in the radial velocity, and time averaging over significant time scales is required to recover the underlying mass flow through the disc. Near the planet the disc material experiences high amplitude perturbations on time scales that are short relative to the time scale required for averaging. The disc response is thus likely to be altered relative to a Navier--Stokes model. Second, the simulation indicates that an ordered magnetic connection between the inner and outer disc can occur enabling angular momentum to flow out across the gap, helping to maintain it independently of the protoplanet's tide. This type of effect may assist gap formation for smaller mass protoplanets which otherwise would not be able to maintain them.