The origin of planetary systems - from dust to planet

We aim to better understand how planets formed around our sun and other stars. Starting from microscopic dust particles, we investigate - using computer simulations - how solids grow in size in the discs of gas that surround young stars. An important process we study in detail is pebble accretion: the physical mechanism by which protoplanets sweep up the mm-sized pebbles that are now routinely imaged in observed discs. Our work is an important piece in the puzzle of understanding the evolution of protoplanetary discs, the planets that form there, and the creation of habitable planets, like Earth.

Group Members

The group consists of Claudia Danti (PhD), Philippine Grivaud (visiting PhD, Nice Observatory), Johan Appelgren (Lund Observatory), Liz Flores (postdoc), and Ayumu Kuwahara (postdoc).