Chris W. Ormel 2026-11-05
Chris W. Ormel coauthored simulations of gas circulation through the early atmospheres of planets embedded in disks. The work studies how atmospheric recycling can connect a planet's nearby gas with its larger disk environment, testing the assumption of a closed static envelope.[ref]
Hydrodynamics of embedded planets first atmospheres II: A rapid recycling of atmospheric gas by Chris W. Ormel and others. author list and the described study’s abstract or introductory account
Gas recycling through a planetary envelope Created 2026-10-20 Updated 2026-11-05
Gas recycling through a planetary envelope is exchange between gas near an embedded planetary embryo and the surrounding protoplanetary disk. Gas can enter and leave the embryo's gravitational neighbourhood instead of remaining in a permanently closed atmosphere. A geometrical region influenced by the embryo therefore need not contain a fixed collection of captured material.
The relevant comparison is between replacement and cooling. If new disk gas replenishes a region faster than it can lose energy, recycling can interfere with cooling-controlled planetary envelope growth. Three-dimensional hydrodynamic simulations demonstrated such connected inflow and outflow around low-mass embedded bodies.[ref]
Hydrodynamics of embedded planets first atmospheres II: A rapid recycling of atmospheric gas by Chris W. Ormel and others. Abstract and discussion of replenishment versus Kelvin-Helmholtz cooling times
The outcome depends on thermal structure and flow geometry; it is not a universal prohibition on gas capture by every core.