Models of particle layers in the midplane of the solar nebula

Abstract

In the absence of global turbulence, solid particles in the solar nebula tend to settle into a thin layer in the central plane. Shear between this layer and pressure-supported gas produces localized turbulence in the midplane; the thickness of the particle layer is determined by balance between settling and turbulent diffusion. A numerical model is described, which allows computation of the vertical structure of a layer of particles of arbitrary size, with self-consistent distributions of particle density, turbulent velocity, and radial fluxes of particles and gas. Effects of varying particle size and the abundances of solids and gas are evaluated. If the surface density of solids is increased by an order of magnitude over nominal solar abundance, the peak density within a layer of small particles can approach the critical value needed for gravitational instability. However, depletion of the nebular gas is much less effective for raising the density of such a layer to the critical value, due to decreased coupling of particles to the gas as the density of the gas decreases. The variation of radial particle flux with surface density of the particle layer is not consistent with secular instability of the layer driven by gas drag.