Growth of solid aggregates through collisions and sticking in a protoplanetary disk. Relative motion can arise from Brownian motion, settling, turbulence and differential radial drift. Bouncing and fragmentation can interrupt growth; collision frequency alone does not determine whether an encounter increases aggregate mass.
A regime in which collisions disrupt aggregates faster than sticking can build larger bodies. The outcome depends on collision speed, porosity and material properties; it is distinct from loss of intact aggregates through radial drift of solids in a gas disk.
Articles by others on the same topic
There are currently no matching articles.